Humble expectations

Today was a beautiful day, more notable because it is February in Ohio. Usually this is the dreariest time of year; long stretches of days with grey skies and frigid temperatures. The sun was bright and warm today, perfect for my husband to fly one of his radio controlled planes. He has been flying these planes for several years, with varying success. It is a touchy hobby, and one false move of the controller, a plane's malfunction or a gust of wind, sends the precious plane crashing nose first into hard ground. This happened to him today. He carries the pieces back to the car and wonders aloud why he has chosen this fickle business as a hobby. He knows others who are experts at flying, as well as those that bring planes to the field but never fly them. I hear the disappointment in his voice and see the damage to the plane he took hours crafting. He said he never expected to be awesome at  it, he had humble expectations and would be satisfied just flying around in a nice pattern. I think this is a perfect motif for life. Some people are awesome at living, full throttle, all the loop de loops, landing smartly on a dime. Some are afraid to lose what they have if they spread their wings. Some of us live humbly, grateful we have good friends, nice kids, and some extra money in the bank; even if we do take a nose dive now and then.