Independece Day

At some point we all gain our independence. As boys or as men, we all get to a place in our lives where the freedom to make choices becomes our very own. I remember as a boy understanding for the first time that my mother no longer had the power to control me in the way I had grown to believe was permanent. It was a simple thing really, a simple action I made that changed my life forever. I took a coca-cola from the refrigerator without asking her first. I can remember like it was yesterday the feeling and understanding that I wouldn't really get into trouble if I took the coke and drank it without her knowing. I understood for the first time that the bigger picture was more significant than the smaller one. It was a liberating feeling that so far in life has served me both well and disastrously.

Today, as a man, I often feel that same realization I felt as a boy holding that coke can. I know more often than not life won't come crashing down around me if I make the wrong choice. My mother is not looking over my shoulder anymore assuring I will choose the right path. Maybe it's her lasting impression that helps to guide me these days and shows me temperance when I need it most. Or maybe it's the hand of God leading me down a road I will never see to the end of. Or maybe it's just fate slapping me on the back from time to time, letting me know there is no rhyme or reason for any of it. So much can and has happened that I know deep down it must be a silly combination of all the above that really holds the true meaning to my independence.

-JF