Life Is What Happens While You're Busy Making Plans

I was surprised to find this post over at Huffington Post.

The author, Frank Schaeffer, got his girlfriend pregnant when he was 17. Instead of lecturing her about her "choice," he married her. They've been married for 37 years, had three children, and, from what he says, have a good life, complete with grandchildren at a time when a lot of grey-haired parents are still getting up at 2 a.m. for feedings.

Schaeffer makes an important point. Not that what he did was the smartest or easiest thing he could have done, but that pursuing college and career before having children will often leave adults without partners or progeny. And in the end, it isn't our company cars or job titles that give us the most comfort and satisfaction in life. It's those people we love.

The biggest reason I decided not to pursue a career in law was that I didn't want someone else raising my kids. Losing my mother relatively young made me realize that our existence is fleetingly short and wasting most of that time in court wasn't what I wanted to be remembered for. As I have told both family and friends, your clients won't remember when you die, nor will they visit your grave once your gone. Only your family (and if you are lucky) your closest friends will do that for you.

Schaeffer's main point is that ordering one's life so as to bar any accidents can be both sterile and unfulfilling. If his girlfriend had had that abortion at 17, maybe she'd be singing the song of "choice" at this moment and he would be a rich, corporate mogul. But somehow, I think he's happy and satisfied with the struggles and joys that came with the life he made instead.