When I Grow Up

I could be a librarian.  Except that being a librarian would be akin to being a kid in a candy store.  I would undoubtedly stick my head in a book and leave the library patrons to their own devices.  I would get fired.  They would take my library card away.  I would cry.

I could host a talk show.  I could.  I wrote about it once, over here.  I think it would be a blast.  I would invite people like Jimmy Carter (although I should probably finish his book first), and Tim Tebow, and my brother Alan, and the two ladies I met in the commissary last week.  I would invite the woman who plays Martha Washington's slave at Mt. Vernon, and my neighbor from down the street.  I would show the world that we all have a story to tell, that we can encourage each other in our respective journeys; that God is always in the mix, seeing to our growth and helping us in our troubles.

I could run the world.

Oh, wait.  I already do that.

I could be a college professor.  It's in my genes, even if math isn't.  I think I would be good at it, because, as Mel says, "I became a college professor so I wouldn't have to grow up."  I've already got the not growing up part down, the next step is getting a PhD.  I would spend my days steeped in Shakespeare and Donne and Cummings and yes, even Chaucer.  I would share my love of great literature, and encourage students to create their own.

I could be a high-powered businesswoman. No I couldn't.  I don't even want to.

For the record: I could not "be" anything that requires the regular wearing of pantyhose. 

Not even for Donald Trump's paycheck.

I could run a coffee shop.  Or a bookstore.  Or anything that puts me in regular contact with people.  Somebody else should probably be in charge of things like paying bills, and ordering beans, and kicking people out at closing.  Those I might not be so good at.

I could be a famous writer.  Or even a not-famous writer, so long as what I wrote was good.  I do have a reoccurring dream that I'm in a bookstore for the signing of my very first book.  I look up, and standing in line are all my favorite authors, waiting for my autograph.

I could be me.  And here, friends, is the crux of the matter: I'm forty years old.  I really feel that I'm just getting started.  Now, even more than in my younger years, I feel that the world is wide open.

The possibilities are endless.