We Are All Zebras

Every person at some point of each day feels trapped, right? If you think about it I would be willing to bet you might start noticing these moments. It doesn't have to be anything big. You could simply feel cornered in the morning during rush hour, not sure if you'll make it to work on time even though it happens everyday and you always make it. Or when you're forced to fall asleep to HGTV instead of the game because their is only one TV in the bedroom.

They could also be more difficult situations, though. I can imagine every parent has wondered at one point or another what life would have been like without children, never doubting for a second that it wouldn't be the same. But knowing that it might have been better, might have been worse. Most adults have undoubtedly stuck it out, or currently are, at a job because it paid for the lifestyle their family had become accustomed to even though the work means nothing to them.

I can happily say, jobless and childless, that these more challenging dilemmas have yet to phase me...they certainly will. Like everyone has the opportunity to decide their lifestyle, I have committed to mine. I have gladly chosen Vern Yip over Michael Cuddyer, Barefoot Contessa over The NBA Finals. When I become a dad I will most certainly choose the imprisonment of fatherhood over all other childless activities. As a now pseudo-uncle of four (pending five), I enjoy every moment I spend with each of them. It excites me to think about having a few of my own someday (don't worry mom and dad) but I can't help but think I will have that taboo of a feeling; that eerie feeling of regret, of something different, dare i say better.

As I write this I feel like I may be rubbing people the wrong way. I, unlike most others, really don't think it is wrong to think about the "what ifs?" in life. You just have to do it differently than most. Their are pros and cons to every question and decision and asking yourself these questions should be no different. What if I was single and could fall asleep to the Minnesota Twins, or the Los Angeles Lakers? Well then I would not be able to see the most beautiful woman in the world when I roll over every morning. And when I have children, what if I was able to go out to more movies, on more dates, to more sporting events. I would then undoubtedly miss out on the universes greatest gift and creation...gazing at each of these miracles every night before they fall sleep.

What I learned today is that we are all zebras. Free to roam the world, doing anything we could possibly conjure but forever trapped behind the black bars of our own decisions. I can think of one thing and one thing only that every person should never regret. One thing that makes all other trapped moments vanish, all other imprisonments feel like cons to the pros of your chosen past, present and future.

And I can only imagine prison to be much more pleasant with someone you love sharing your cell.