" You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster. Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride! I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it. "
I've always loved this quote by "Grandma", from the movie Parenthood. Though her thoughts might be a little addled by age, her comparison of a life full of adventure... good or bad... with a life of mundane commonalty, struck me and has stuck with me since I watched the movie in 1989.
I think of my own life, and though not by my choice, it has been full of ups and downs. I have watched the earth fall from under my feet as I plummeted downwards so frightened, scared and unsure of how I would survive when I reached the bottom. I have been sick as I hit the unexpected twists and turns that my ride of life unexpectedly always seems to throw at me. And I have certainly been excited and thrilled knowing that no matter how high my roller coaster took me I could and would survive the giant falls only to climb up another exciting arch and repeat it all again.
I am grateful for roller coasters. I think some people stand in line forever waiting for their chance on the merry-go-round, only to realize once they are sitting on the proud, painted horse, that life was never meant to be one of endless circles accompanied by the music from calliopes and carrousel organs. Lessons learned from continuously rotating around and around are never as great as the education one can get from sailing through the winds in the sky and diving into unknown depths of life. Life changes are never made, experience is never gained and love is never learned unless you pull that lap bar down, heart racing and brow sweating as the giant steel machine pulls you up, up, up. And once you reach it's crest... it let's go. And life takes over.
I will take the hysteria of the roller coaster. And I will let life take over. I will lift my arms up and scream with delight while life is throwing it's hairpin curves and steep drops at me. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.
