海角大神

If Christmas is a holiday that places children at its center, we usually regard New Year鈥檚 Day as an observance geared for grownups.

The wistful retrospection of New Year鈥檚 鈥� auld lang syne and all of that 鈥� seems more suited to the middle-aged mind, and not the outlook of a child or a teen with only a few years in the rearview mirror.

But there鈥檚 value, too, in youngsters taking some time to look back at where they鈥檝e been, as I was recently reminded when my 14-year-old son, William, was named student of the year at his junior high school.

He鈥檚 now competing for the honor at the district level, and that required him to submit a dossier of all the things he鈥檚 done during his academic career.

Even if William doesn鈥檛 win the district title, as a teacher reminded us, the dossier will leave us with a keepsake of Will鈥檚 many adventures both inside and outside the classroom.

That鈥檚 a nice dividend for us because, truth be told, we鈥檙e not one of those families who keeps scrapbooks. My wife and I find ourselves too busy living life to carefully record very much of it, and so the ribbons, certificates, and snapshots from our children鈥檚 lives tend to accumulate in drawers and dusty shelves, with very little sense of narrative.

But with help from my wife Catherine, the nearest thing our household has to a recording secretary, William drew on our shoebox archives to tell a 25-page story of what he鈥檚 done in a life that spans less than a decade and a half.

What surprised us 鈥� and what might surprise you if you undertake this exercise 鈥� is how much our son had been able to do, whether it was through Scouting, his science club, his church service, or his abiding interest in robotics.

Looking back, even at his tender age, William was reminded of the typically incremental nature of accomplishment. Popular culture tends to focus on the One Big Moment that defines success, whether it be a breathtaking touchdown, the rafter-raising rim shot, the valedictory speech at high school graduation. But our quick review of William鈥檚 life spoke of a different reality. Along with landmark events, like a stellar showing at the science fair, we saw lots of little moments, such as his hours at his robotics club, that slowly added up to something grand.聽

How gratifying for William to see, in assembling his dossier, that happiness and fulfillment are a long-term proposition.

The dossier also highlighted the many mentors who have helped William along the way 鈥� the team sponsor who introduced him to robotics, the Scout leaders who taught him how to build a campfire, the science teacher who fired his passion for the world of knowledge, the music teachers who helped him take a cello and unleash its hidden language to an audience.聽

Remembering these heroes in William鈥檚 life of learning filled us with gratitude that could fill more than 25 pages 鈥� or 25 times 25 pages.

That鈥檚 why, each New Year鈥檚 Day, as my wife and I share lunch with William and his sister Eve, now in college, we take turns and offer not only personal resolutions, but a few highlights of our year.聽

Last New Year鈥檚, Will remembered how much he鈥檇 struggled in math during the previous months, and how he eventually found his potential. Eve recalled her senior year of high school, and her evolving sense of how quickly time passes.

All the more reason, I鈥檝e decided, why kids should be a big part of New Year鈥檚, too.

Revisiting the past, as my children have discovered, can yield as many surprises as the future spreading out ahead of them.