The girls and I were laughing about an incident from the past when I had lost my patience and my composure. The silly incident was behind us now, but the girls like to bring it up every now and again to remind me of my faults. As I drove, they recounted the incident from the backseat, bleeping out the cuss words I had uttered.
“Yeah, that wasn’t my finest moment,” I said casually to end the conversation.
“What was?” Maddie asked from the backseat.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“If that wasn’t your finest moment, then what was?”
“Ummmmm…. oh. Well…..” I stalled.
Maddie and Katie bantered in the backseat, trading moments to see which one fit. Maddie talked about getting into the gifted program at school and performing a skit at the Talent Show last year. Katie talked about gymnastics milestones and getting her most favorite stuffie. I was glad for the distraction because my mind was racing.
I’ve had plenty of fine moments, don’t get me wrong. I’ve had countless moments of pride and pure joy. (Far more than I deserve really.) But what I was thinking as I drove the car towards home was this: what if my finest moment hurt somebody else?
What if there was a moment in my life when I made a decision that freed me? What if that one moment allowed me to speak truth into my life, but then affected the lives of everyone I love? What if my finest moment tore apart a family?
“I think it was probably when I got my teaching degree or my first apartment,” I eventually lied when the girls insisted on an answer.
“Mine was when I was a duck in the Talent Show,” Maddie declared. I laughed and smiled at the memory, hiding my finest moment in my heart for now.
P.S. Want to join this community of writers with me? Consider this your invitation.
