Mulligans

I'm beginning to understand why

generations overlap, running two and three deep

before the baton of life's relay is finally passed.

It's more than the need for continuity

and the passing of history,

though these have their place.

One of the critical purposes

of imbricating generations is for mulligans.

Our "handling" of the

immediately succeeding generation

is always fraught with the foibles

we inherited from our own parents.

We push and pull too hard,

holding to demanding standards,

in hopes that our own shortcomings

will somehow be ameliorated.

But it is too late when we realize

that we have mostly repeated history

 and, more importantly, that

we have missed far too many

opportunities to celebrate life.

And then we get a second chance

with great nieces and nephews,

grandchildren and, if genetics

and circumstances intersect serendipitously,

maybe even an additional generation.

It's not just a softening or weakness

of old age that fortifies our gentleness,

as so many assume, but also

a long-in-the-tooth premonition

that grace is both

the final question and its answer.

May we acquire this holy grail

in sufficient supply

 to replant the tender shoot

torn from our youth by well-meaning parents;

and also find wisdom to recognize,

in the waning tenderness of our own twilight,

not just forgiveness for self and others,

but also hope beyond imagining.

 In such an awakening,

resurrection looms as bright

and grace-filled as

the most amazing Easter sunrise.

© 2013 Todd Jenkins