What I wish they could see.

My middle child says the most profound things. Things that I keeping thinking about long after he's forgotten.

Recently he said, I wish I could see you and Dad when you were kids. He said it thoughtfully, like he was really trying to imagine us.

I wish he could see how it doesn't feel like that long ago. How vividly we remember what it was like to be their age.

I wish our children could see the circumstances that shaped us: the good choices and the bad, the lucky breaks, the heartaches, and the hard-fought wins. I wish they could see everything we learned along the way.

I wish they could see how important it feels to prepare them for the world. I wish they could see the reasons why we care so much.

I wish they could see that, even as we lecture, spout advice, and remind them to clean up their mess, that we're really not that different.

The thing we have, that they don't yet have, is perspective. That comes with time. We want them to live their own lives, even as we also want to help provide the tools.

They can't see who we were then, only who we are now. But one day they'll look back and remember what it was like to be a kid. And when they do, when they have perspective, I hope they'll always remember us this way. I hope they'll see that it really wasn't that long ago.