Wander (Edited to Include an Apology)

We must let them wander. We must let ourselves wander, too.

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Are you good about letting your kids wander? Are you good about letting yourself wander?

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MY APOLOGY (4:22pm)

Mom just called. "Has anyone talked to you about your post today?" she asked. "No. Why?" Mom: "Because I think given the terrible tragedy with that boy in Brooklyn, it comes across as insensitive." A pit formed in my stomach. Of course. What in the world prompted me to write or publish this post today? As I talked to her, and thought about this, I felt a bit sick to my stomach. Tears were waiting to spring. I told Mom that my post was really about existential wandering, about discovery. My post was about allowing our kids - and ourselves - to stumble into who it is we are, allowing evolution to be organic, non-linear. My post was about identity and experience and life. I told her these things because they were true; I thought not once about the little boy in Brooklyn when penning this post. Maybe I should have.

"Should I pull it down?" I asked Mom about this post. I appreciate Mom's advice and I needed it in this moment. "I don't know," she said. "Should I write a comment? A follow-up post?" I asked. "I don't know," she said. Even though I was newly upset, and quite, I thanked Mom and said goodbye. And then I came here. Back to my computer. Back to this post. I decided to leave it up and add these words, to explain myself. And it is with this explanation, clumsy no doubt, that I apologize, imperfectly but sincerely, if I have offended any of you. That was never my intention. I plan to be much more careful about what I post, and when, going forward.