Am I Growing?

On the first day of the eighth grade, my son and I went to Meet the Teacher Night. He hadn’t seen any of his school friends all summer, so he was surprised when they showed up and were, according to him, as tall as NBA players. No joke, everyone, even the girls, towered over my son by at least a foot.

A year later we found out that he had an issue with his pituitary gland. It wasn’t producing, so he wasn’t getting any taller. In order for him to grow at the rate he was supposed to, the doctor would need to treat him with hormone shots.

He had a doctor’s appointment today, nearly a year after the first shot, and we got the news that he’s gotten nearly a foot taller, with room still left to grow. And we are both overjoyed. It was a surprise. While we mark the doorframe every few months, we hadn’t measured with the tape. We saw the progress, but he had no clue of the numbers. We hadn’t quantified his growth.

Which leads me to wonder, how am I going to know, over the next year, how far I’ve grown? How will I know when I’ve moved passed failing? How will I know when I’ve won?

I’m not even sure if there is a tried and true way to quantify success. What if I don’t make more money over the next twelve months? What if I still haven’t finished a novel? What if I’m still a nagging single mother? Can I still be a winner? Or will I have gotten stuck failing?ver the next twelve months, I’m going to have to complete yet another task. I’ll have to figure out a way evaluate my own success. Does anyone have any ideas on how?

I decided today, in the car on the way home, that over the next twelve months, I’m going to have to complete yet another task. I’ll have to figure out a way evaluate my own success without driving myself crazy. There has to be an easy way to figure out how.