This is the conversation that Lili and I had this morning.
Lili is 2.25 years old, going on 92.

Lili looks up at my books on a shelf and says: “Mommy, I want those books.”

Me: “Oh Lili… you have to be old to read those books.”

Lili: “I want to be old, Mommy.”

Me: “Oh no, Lili… stay young… you don’t want to be old.”

Starting to cry, Lili whimpers, “I want to be old, Mommy. I don’t want to be young. I waaaant to be OLD!”

So many things ran through my head…

For one, this child has a very old soul as it is… there are days that she seems older than me.  I wanted to bundle her up in shrink wrap so she wouldn’t grow.  I wanted preserve every little ounce of her as she is.  Secondly, as I’m entering my mid-thirties, I do waver on being that cliche… the 34 year-old who wishes they were 25.  I try not to be that cliche, but some days it just is.  I wanted to tell her, “Lili… you will be my age someday and look at your daughter and wish you were 2.”  We all want to be older… until we get there… and then we want to be young again.

And, then I had one more thought…

We all want to get *THERE* faster, don’t we?  We all want to get to that next point in our lives where everything is “better” or “more successful” or “amazing”.  That desire never ends.  There isn’t much difference between the two year old wanting to be “OLD” and the business owner who wants to build an empire overnight.

Life doesn’t happen like that.

It takes time to grow up… time to grow a flowerbed… time to grow a business.  It takes dedication, and discipline, and practice, and hard work.  There are no short cuts.  And, if you enjoy the journey… STAY PRESENT… you’ll have a good time along the way.

My advice for you, is the same as it is for Lili… enjoy all of these days on  your journey… it’s fun to be “old”… but I truly enjoyed what I went through to get here.  And, my growing hasn’t stopped.  I’m still learning.  I’m still fine-tuning.  I’m still practicing.  Growth is never-ending.