Mark Turner dot Net

Last night while I was chopping vegetables for tonight’s supper, I thought about my service in the Navy. At the time I was a cryptologic technician, which included a security clearance and sounded pretty futuristic. In actuality, I learned how to copy Morse Code: the oldest form of electronic communication available. I haven’t used either my Morse Code nor my security clearance in a job ever since.

It made me wonder whether I should’ve used my Navy training to become a cook. Now there’s a skill that will never be out of demand! The cooks on the ship really had respect, too, because if you treated them right they might get you an extra can of coffee or give you dibs on certain foods.

There’s also a kind of zen involved in chopping vegetables, a meditative state where one simply zones out and lets one’s hands do the work. At the same time, though, listening to Morse can also put one into a sort of trance, with the stream of dots and dashes requiring a certain kind of focus and having a certain kind of rhythm.

At the end of the day, however, no one wants to eat dots or dashes!

The picture above captures what has long been one of my favorite activities: riding bikes with the kids to school. It was 24 degrees when this photo was taken, but it was still fun. As you can see, I’m normally left in the dust on these rides.

I had been feeling wistful about this wonderful daily routine and how it will soon be coming to an end. Hallie graduates to middle school this fall and for the first time in a long time our morning schedules will no longer align. Travis still has two years of biking to school to be done but this glorious age when they’re both biking to school together will forever end.

How is it that when I was a kid life seemed to stretch on forever? How could it have ever seemed like one lifetime would be all I’d ever need to do all the things I wanted to do? Why didn’t anyone warn me how quickly life slips through one’s fingers, careening away like these cackling young cyclists?

With the kids growing inches every few months, it’s hard to keep up with all that’s happening in my life. I don’t want to miss a moment. I want to hug these kids and never let them go. I want to never forget what it’s like now, having such a wonderful family.

The kids will grow up, make their own way, and live successful lives. No matter where time takes us, though, I will always savor this moment in our lives.