Recently a cousin sent me a slide show that contained many photos of family that covered three generations or maybe even more. Of course since this was family of my age and the prior generations I felt this had been put together just for my pleasure. Of course, I am wrong about that. I feel any person near to these folks or just these folks can sit back and enjoy what they are about to see. 
As I was watching this slideshow, I got to looking into the photos of people in their childhood and young adult faces and it hit me. There was one thing that I saw in all of those faces and it didn’t matter as to the generation or the place and time the pictures were taken. Each person was looking ahead. What I mean is, from our earliest memories and onward, we are looking to see just what is next. You see, life is still all new to us. Therefore, every time you see something new it is an experience that we had yet to have experienced.
Yes, that does sound simple, I admit, but without going through each and every experience we would have missed a step in that thing we call life. When you are young and growing, you don’t talk about what has been as you haven’t been there yet yourself. There is the old expression “half the fun is getting there.” You know what? That is so very true. Just think for a moment what would your life be like if you knew it all at first and never had anything new to ever happen to you?
I of course think back to my years of growing up and getting older and wiser. I know I drove my family and especially my dad crazy with just one word. Why? I think after the one hundredth time I would ask that and it was yet to be mid-morning dad would answer my one question with one answer. “To make little boys ask questions. Served its purpose didn’t it?” That answer was effective but since I was curious and determined to get a more complete answer I would go to Ben and ask him why and of course after a while he would give me the same answer that dad had. Stumped again, I still wouldn’t give up and would go to the house and begin asking my mom who just wasn’t near as patient as dad or Ben and would tell me to go outside and play.
That is a small example of growing up. As we move from our childhood and into our young adult years, we are still in one way or another asking that question. Why? The topics had changed of course, but our curiosity kept us pushing on. You know things like, why do I have to work and why do I have to pay for things? Why do I have to leave home and why do I have to grow older? In this section, I could put in a thousand questions. Maybe even more than a thousand and we all have had to ask why and find out as it is just the part of growing older and aging I guess.
When I got to what I felt was adulthood I would go to my dad from time to time and ask him another question but dad had changed his answer on me. He would listen contently to me and after I had talked for a spell, he would give me this very concerned look along with a heavy sigh and ask me, “Well, what do you think you should do?” I learned later on that we all feel that what we think is going to be more or less the answer we were looking for in the beginning.
Now I am uncertain as to when it happens but I think that sometime after your children are grown and moved away from home that we realize that our heads can turn. All at once, we turn our heads to where they can look back and see where we have been instead of where we are headed. All of those years of looking ahead to see where you are going and where you are trying to get to you stop and realize that maybe just maybe you have reached to where you were going and now it is time to complete our journey of getting there.
I guess I am at a point to where I can take that look back as you all know that I do. However, I still like to look forward and think to myself just what is next for me and believe it or not I am still interested in moving forward a little more at least. The difference between now and back a couple of decades is I see the looking ahead at a shorter distance instead of those long range plans I tried to make so many years ago. As my children were growing and that curious age hit them with the question of why I got to use my dad’s answer of “it makes little boys or girls ask questions.”
These days I have grandchildren and man, do they have the questions and now I again get to use the answer of to make little children ask questions. Thing is these days, they are asking me questions about computers and X-boxes and other new devices that I have no idea on so this is a perfect answer. The thing is, they are looking forward and doing so very well. It pays to be inquisitive. It is a must these days and you know what it was when we were kids also.
I have enjoyed having had that look in my face of being excited about what is to come just as I saw those faces with that same look that each face contains as they are experiencing their lives. It is a part of us and without it we would be so very lost. The past is rather wasted on the young, as they just haven’t got to that point yet. So until they do I guess we better be nice when we are ask WHY?
Rick Houser grew up on a farm near Moscow in Clermont County and loves to share stories about his youth and other topics. If you are interested in reading more of his stories they can be found in his books ‘There are Places to Remember” and’ Memories ARE from the Heart.” He may be reached at [email protected] or mail to P.O. Box 213 Bethel, Ohio 45106.