Milestones.

I do not want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well. -Diane Ackerman

Marriage. Graduating. Babies. Moving out. Moving in. Leaving. Coming home. Taking a step. Sitting down. Careers beginning. Careers ending. Success. Failure. Success disguised as failure. Failure disguised as success. Falling in love. Discovering love wasn’t what you thought it was. Buying new shoes. Deciding not to wear shoes. Lemonade stands. Death.

Milestone. A word easily tossed into a speech or hastily scribbled in a card. A milestone can take many forms and wear many faces - they can be kept secret, or publicized on the radio. You have them, I have them, our parents have them, probably even our dogs have them, whatever a milestone for a dog may be. They are proof that you have made some sort of movement, that you have stirred from your ordinary life at some point to try doing something different. Often a milestone is planned, and is accompanied by printed paper announcements, ceremonies, and posed photos. Milestones can also be unexpected, brought about by surprise promotions or pink slips, results from a test, or a sudden change in a relationship.

The past few months have brought with them many milestones for the people in my life. A dear friend and a cousin became wives, others became mothers, fathers, and fiancés.  Others have graduated from kindergarten, high school, and college. “Love” has been declared, “love” has ended, friendships and people have changed.

And I have watched it all happen with an eyebrow raised and a question in my mind: “When did we get here?” 

A friend told me yesterday that I can be “so logical and slightly pessimistic sometimes.” I won’t deny it. I also have a bad habit of answering my own questions. The combination of those two things gives me the short answer to the queries above: I don’t know, and those questions don’t matter, because there’s nothing I can do about it.

The longer answer comes from my sentimental, optimistic side: The “when” isn’t the most important thing - it’s that it happened. All we can do is decide what milestones we want to have in our lives, and to seek them out. Run after what you want in life, and allow your dreams to change, because they will.