One of my favourite sayings is “experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted”. So, if I get what I want, that’s a win! And if I didn’t get what I wanted, I gained experience. Which is also a win! Nothing is wasted.
When Greg was about 2 years old, we lived in a little bungalow in town. We had a nice back yard, but it was not fenced. We also lived beside a park. The access to the park was 2 houses away, so it was really quick to get there. I could see the park from my kitchen window.
One day, Greg said he wanted to go to the park. At that time, Greg’s father was still alive, and dad was going to take him to the park. I heard the door close and assumed they were on their way. A few minutes later, my husband came upstairs and said he was ready to take Greg to the park. The house was oddly quiet. We called Greg and looked for him but didn’t find him anywhere. Something told me to look out the kitchen window, so I did. And there was Greg, going down the slide and having a lovely time at the park! My husband joined him at the park and all was right with the world.
The Lock
The weather was warm and we had all the windows open. We had a screen door as well, which let in plenty of light and a lovely breeze. Except experience taught us that Greg could open the screen door and leave whenever he felt like it. Since he was 2, he didn’t understand about not leaving the house by himself. In order for us to keep the screen door open and keep Greg in the house, I bought a hook and eye type of lock at the hardware store. We installed it near the top of the door so we could lock and unlock as we saw fit, but Greg wouldn’t be able to reach it. Of course, he figured that out fairly quickly and soon he was seen pulling a chair up to the door so he could unlock the door himself! At least that bought me a bit of time to intercept his plans.
The Fence
Experience had taught me that little boys will take off and do whatever they want unless they are closely supervised. A few years later, I was widowed and living in the new house with all 3 boys. Kyle was 2, Greg was 5 and the baby was only weeks old. Greg was in kindergarten, so Kyle was without an older brother on school days. Because of how things had gone with Greg escaping the yard and going to the park when we lived in town, I insisted that we have some kind of fenced area in the back for the children to play. The new house was on the highway heading out of town, and the last thing I wanted was for the children to wander on to the highway or get lost in the corn field behind our house. My father-in-law graciously installed a fence. It was horse fence, so not pretty, but who cares? Safety was the concern, and the fence could come down in a few years.
The day Earl and his crew came to install the fence, Earl came into the house at some point in the day, asking if Kyle was in the house. I said he was. A look of intense relief crossed his face, and he nearly jumped for joy. He said Kyle had been outside helping with the fence (as much as a 2-year-old can help) and when he turned around Kyle was gone. He was afraid Kyle had wandered into the wooded area and he had the whole crew going up and down the highway looking for him. This is why I need a fence! I was sorry Earl and the fence crew had that little scare, and I was also glad that they understood why I wanted the fence.
Of course this is just a fun little example of “experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted”. I suppose that is why older persons are so interesting to listen to – they have such vast amounts of experience. The older we get, the more experience we have.
The next time something doesn’t work out like you had hoped, fret not! You have gained valuable experience. When your experience comes in handy, you can look back on the day you earned it and smile. And that is a win!
