Dear friend,

You’ve no-doubt changed in the years of your life. We all have.

Much like a garden, this version of me has taken years to develop and grow (and heavily prune). Just ask my wrinkles. But as Monty Don often says, a garden is not built in a day. The best of them are tended and cared for years. Trees, after all, need time to grow before they can cast shade and bear fruit.

As in comedy… timing is everything. And in reality, there is much that cannot be rushed about.

Sourdough.

Intimacy.

Maturity.

A friend of mine was once lamenting the attitudes and actions of her children, feeling quite defeated by their immaturity and rambunctious natures. An older mother listened patiently and nodded alone. “How old are your kids again?” the older woman asked. “7 and 9”, the younger mother replied. “Ahh. So you want them to act like they’re 18 and 20 instead of the ages they actually are.”, the older woman replied.

Mature children don’t happen before their time, and my 9 year old doesn’t need to act 19 quite yet thank-you-very-much. Though we may know this to be true, we resist it. We resist that ripening takes time, care, pruning, cultivation, and protection.

But I will not be rushed about by a culture that cannot see the value in ripening.