She was in a great mood the whole time we
had her. Ate breakfast with a
chuckle. Got dressed by herself. Brushed her teeth by herself. Even brushed her hair by herself. Amazingly pleasant morning. We chatted amiably on the drive over to the
school. And when we arrived she took my hand instead of the other way around. And so we began the walk up to the front
door. Her the cute little five year old
and me the very proud and doting grandfather.
As we crossed the street and reached the
final walkway, though, she happened to notice the three people walking behind
us. Another old dude like me was holding
a hand of each of two little girls who looked astonishingly alike. Cailyn called them by name, so I asked if
they were in her class.
“No, DadDad, that’s the twins. I think they are in first grade.” “Ah, the twins. So they are older than you?”
“They are with me in cheerleading.”
And there you have it. My flashback moment began. Not that the scenario was exactly the same, mind
you. But the feel of it was there,
somewhere in the dark recesses of my memories, struggling to get out. I had been here before, and the memory,
though fuzzy, was, well, not happy.
Cailyn’s pace slowed markedly. Her head dropped to her chin so she could
more easily sneak a peek at the older and wiser twins. She didn’t speak to them, or even acknowledge
that they were there, but very soon we were almost neck and neck with
them. But by this time we had reached
the drop off point. I gave her a quick
kiss, but she did move. She was staring,
but this time not at the twins. Off to
our right, coming from the other side of the school was boy. All by himself, he shuffled along, obviously
not in any hurry. His bushy blonde hair
was quite disheveled. His eyes scanned only
the sidewalk directly in front of him. His
movements were slow … awkward. And
Cailyn seemed fascinated by this young creature. Finally, a shy grin arose on her face. She spoke:
“I think I’ll wait and walk in with Luke.”
There it was. Dumped for a chance at romance. She waited.
He moved slower. She waited. He stopped at the corner to … he didn’t do
anything. He just stopped. And about that time the twins breezed past,
grinning and holding hands with each other. And they acknowledged Cailyn’s
presence. They actually spoke to
her. And thus began her dilemma. Join the cheerleaders or continue to wait for
the snail man?
Alas, the lure of the perky blonde twins and
the brunette cohort who had since joined them proved just too much to
resist. Cailyn skipped happily away with
her cheerleader friends, leaving poor rejected Luke in the dust, a choice, I
might add, that probably added a few years to his life had Cailyn’s Daddy seen
him. Thankfully, though, he had no idea
of what had just happened, which is, sadly, a typical male reaction. As the new pack of females talked and laughed
their way into the building, Unlucky Luke continued his slow shuffle, oblivious
to the world around him. One day, young
Luke. One day you will notice. You will ache for the beautiful girl to
smile, to simply notice that you are there.
And when she does, your heart will flutter. Your stomach will ache. And everything within you will desperately
want to walk up to her and say “Hi.” At
that point, Young Luke, at that point you will face the decision of a
lifetime. Speak up, or shuffle on? Consider carefully, my friend, and choose
wisely. Oh, and be careful if you choose
Cailyn. Her Daddy is a firefighter, and
he knows a lot of people. Big
people.
Psalms 9:9-10 says, “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of
trouble. Those who know your name will
trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
Father, walk with all the Young Ones as
they discover themselves and relationships.
Amen.
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