Exuberance Trumps Caution

“Sometimes your exuberance over-rides your brain.”
This was my husband, speaking to our dog Charlie when he made a failed attempt at jumping up on top of a fairly high chair. Luckily he wasn’t hurt – he never is. I had to laugh though, because it made me think of all the times I’ve done that very thing.
There are many times in my life where the actual idea far outweighs the intended goal. I have no doubt you can relate. As I look back, I’ve had many exuberant ideas that really sounded great – at the time. From failed attempts at jumping a bike over a backyard bench (sorry mom) to the almost relief that my last minute sky-diving lesson had been cancelled due to high winds.
I don’t think I go through life with blinders on; it’s more like rose colored glasses. At the time, almost every idea is a good one. When I am drinking a glass of wine, my ideas aren’t just good, they are utterly fantastic. I’ve planned parties, trips, businesses, another child, new careers, additions to our four-legged clan and the end to world hunger - all over some cabernet.
I’ve watched my children go through the stages of trial and error, as I know you have. They thought that the idea of eating crayons, drinking an entire gallon of milk while standing up at the refrigerator or climbing a fence with barbed wire at the top all sounded like a great idea, yet the end result had some pretty good repercussions. My granddaughters are starting to follow suit, although I do notice that one of them was born with the “caution gene” where the other two are more “throw caution to the wind”. Both are great, but don’t worry – I’m sure I will be able to loosen up the “caution gene”.
I watch my dogs do the same. Apparently they can’t see color, and don’t realize that the fly they’ve chased and are about to swallow is actually a bee. Or when you eat all of the stuffing out of your chew toy, the law of “what goes in must come out” suddenly applies.
I guess I belong to the “jump first, ask questions later” club. Those of you that are members understand that we were born this way, and sometimes common sense just never seems to factor into the equation.
Most of the time, the end results are fine. Or I actually do think about it and realize that maybe it wasn’t such a great idea after all. Thank God. Otherwise I’d have a child entering kindergarten right now, and I’d be living on a farm raising pot-bellied pigs.
In my world, exuberance trumps caution every time. I may have forgotten one thing though – and it’s quite important. Just as children have their parents, I too am blessed to have my own safety net – in the form of a much grounded husband.