Good things Come to Those Who Wait

Our society seems obsessed with achieving success as early as humanly possible. Ella is three years old, and I’m learning that we should have signed her up for an elite sports league about three and a half years ago so she could focus on one sport. Apparently, if she isn’t traveling halfway across the country to play in tournaments by the time she’s 8, her childhood will have been a waste. Looking back, I would’ve chosen tennis, but I’m still not sure how to measure her grip size in utero.

The tech boom of the 90’s told us we were losers if we weren’t billionaires by the age of 29. Business magazines are full of lists echoing this sentiment. All these lists are titled, “Top 30 business leaders under 30” and “Top 40 attorneys under 40.” Why do we place such importance on seemingly arbitrary timeframes? There is no “Top 60 under 60” list.

Is there any shame in achieving success later in life? Maybe the goal should be where you end up, not how fast you got there. In last year’s Super Bowl, guess how many players were 5-star recruits coming out of high school? One. That’s it. Out of 84 players on both rosters, only one achieved the pinnacle of success at that early age. Do you think any of those 83 players are complaining now? Heck, Warren Buffett didn’t become a billionaire until the age of 56. Do you think he’s complaining?

When I found out that Audrey had CHARGE Syndrome, I called the CHARGE Syndrome Foundation to learn as much as I could about what Audrey was facing. I spoke with the President of the foundation, and the first thing she told me was to take the developmental playbook for a child and throw it out the window. CHARGE kids just live on their own timeline.

Every time a baby has to go under anesthesia, the parent has to sign a waiver. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve signed that waiver. I think I stopped counting at 13. Every time I’m signing the waiver, the anesthesiologist informs me that putting a baby under anesthesia could cause developmental delays. I haven’t asked them what 13 times would do.

I know that Audrey probably won’t make any of those lists, and she won’t be a 5-star recruit. And I don’t care. Until society celebrates the “Most times under anesthesia before the age of 2” list, Audrey’s publicity will be relegated to these blog posts.

The milestones still come with CHARGE, they just come a little slower than usual. Audrey finally achieved this little milestone. This smile is the look of pride that came after she pulled herself up on her feet for the first time. Society can keep their lists. I’ll keep these pictures because the fact that it took 19 months to achieve this milestone doesn’t diminish the impact that this smile has on me.