I developed a crush on Carol during camp one summer while in elementary school. She gave no more notice of me than to a fluttering leaf.
It was but one of many disappointments that mark a life. Our disappointments are big and small – and sometimes swollen with importance in the moment, only to prompt a laugh or reflection later.
I got over Carol and moved on.
Then there was Mr. Coma’s physics class. A senior in high school, I wanted to earn an A. I escaped with a B.
And moved on.
Or a later romance, more successful, during college. Until she dumped me – for the other guy. I hurt for a while.
And moved on.
Losing Carol isn’t like losing a presidency. But disappointment comes to all, even to presidents. Perhaps especially to presidents, who win high office but inevitably achieve less than they hoped.
Life without disappointment is parched and stale. Disappointment in life’s lesser moments equips us to greet the grander downers still to come. To see loss as ballast for life’s crests.
And to move on.
