The Time of Your Life

A Story

Several years ago, I walked past my 6 year old son's bedroom. He was lying on his bed, crying.
"What's he matter?", I asked him.
"I don't want to die...", he sobbed.

I fought back the involuntary urge to laugh. This was not the time to see the funny side of things.

I got my metre-long steel ruler, returning with three clothes pegs in my hand.

I clipped one peg on the ruler, at 6 cm.
"See this peg? That's you... 6 years old.", I said.
I clipped another peg at 37 cm.
"This one's me...".
And another peg at 71 cm.
"And this one's Opa. Look how far down the line he is... and you're all the way up here, right at the start. You've still got a loooong way to go."

My son, smiled, feeling better about his situation, and I smiled too.