Some children shoot up, and are taller than their parents by the time they reach 8th grade. Others struggle to reach the 5’4″ mark.

Everyone grows at a different rate.

But sometimes we just stop growing.

What about the little boy who wants to be 6’1″ but comes from a family where the average height is around five foot two?

The girl in middle school who doesn’t understand why she’s the only one in her class with a larger chest.

The teenage boy who hates his deeper voice because he never knows when it will suddenly “crack.”

The mom who worries that her child isn’t developing at the “normal” rate.

What about them?

What about me?

What about you?

Everyone grows at a different rate. But it’s not just physical. Everyone grows spiritually, mentally, and emotionally at a different rate.

Where I am isn’t where you are on this path called life. You may have walked this road, but the path has changed. There are new bunny trails to follow, new potholes to avoid, and the scenery has changed.

I follow in your footsteps, but the path has changed.

You can not expect me to avoid making your mistakes. I will trip and I will fall. I will make my own mistakes and take my own wrong turns.

At the same time, you can not expect me to do exactly as you did. Your path is your path; my path is my path. They are one in the same, but they are oh so different.

I will listen to your stories, your tales, and your songs. I will quietly sit and take in all your knowledge. I will then weigh all you have said, and will choose for myself what to do with what I have learned. What you say is important to me, but please understand that I must make my own choices.

I face my own battles daily. You have taught me fighting techniques, but I must go out and fight the battle on my own. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t like to hear you cheering from the sidelines. I need your cheers, your love, your support.

But most of all I need you to realize that the path has changed.

We all grow at different rates. I’m growing at my rate, you’re growing at yours. Let’s learn to accept each other for where we each are on this path called life.

Where are you on the path?