Thirtysomething

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Right in the heart of my high school years, there was this show on television called Thirtysomething which everyone watched and pretty much loved. In a lot of ways it was the first of its kind, and you can still see its influence today in a lot of television programming. I was nowhere near thirtysomething at the time, but I loved it, too.

When I was in high school, I had this recurring dream that I was a young professional, a father and a husband, right in the middle of a season when we should be living the average everyday suburban dream, and yet somehow utterly unable to support my family. When I was 16 and 17, it was probably the single biggest thing I was afraid of. I think it boils down to this one question that I just couldn't get out of my head: "will I be able to make it out there, in the real world?"

There was a moment yesterday when all five ladies were sitting on the couch--at least, all five ladies who don't live full-time in a flight cage. The two birds were behind bars, of course, so I'm talking about Amy, Zoe, Fina, Jota, and Bella. There they all are, reading a book on the couch, and here's the thing: it hasn't been easy, but it's been nothing like I expected.

That nightmare about what was coming didn't dissipate in one instant--it wasn't gone immediately after Amy and I got married or the moment after Zoe was born. It's not like I was wondering about it, though, worrying. There's just a point in life when you just start living it, when you just buckle down and go right ahead doing whatever it is you need to do to keep everything moving forward, in the right direction. And I guess that's the lesson I'm thinking about now that I'm right smack in the middle of my own thirtysomething.

It's not that it's easy. No one in their right mind would tell you that. But it is good. And the secret--like the secret to most good things--is to just keep working at it, day after day. There's no magic, no special sauce. Just keep at it.