Day 207: Delayed Morals

When I was in middle school I wrote a story, The Grape Brothers, for my friend's little brother.

It was a story about  - wait for it - brothers, who are grapes! And their desire for a different life than the one their family said was destined for them. 

It doesn't have a happy ending, though there is a silver lining.
Quench your curiosity and read the full story here.

At the time 12 or 13 year old me was writing the story, I had no plan for where it was going or the overall message or moral I was trying to deliver. Like many of my creative pursuits I was flying by the seat of my pants and open to wherever things landed.

Now, twenty years later (holy cow!!!), I see that past me may have actually been writing for present me.

You know the story synopsis, up top - telling of the Grape Brothers' desire for a different life than what their family has in mind for them?
I had no idea that was a theme of the story until writing this post today.

It took twenty years -
20 years of learning
20 years of experiencing
20 years of living
- to fully grasp the message Tween Sarah had unknowingly penned so long ago.

We all, individually, get to decide what we want for ourselves and our lives.

As the saying goes, the only certainty in life is death. But we have a whole heck of a lot more say in what happens before that than we are led to believe.

Vince and Carlos didn't want to be turned into wine or a tasty treat - so they literally charted their own path until they reached their end.

Maybe this is something we would do well to be reminded of more often?