Failure to Thrive

Failure to Thrive. Stamped on River's medical form. Failure to Grow really. Stuck. On Pause. Active. Happy. Thriving really. In every other way. Except up and out. The same height and size as one year ago. Stopped in time. We take biology for granted. Our hair grows. Our food is digested. Our liver filters. And when something doesn't do it's function, it's role, what do we do? How do we respond? Out of our control. Beyond what we know. We get up in the morning, and our heart is still beating. Our lungs still exchanging air. Really, we should thank our organs every morning for keeping it going, doing their thing. Thank you heart for pumping my blood around, feeding my cells, allowing this body to carry this mind around, allowing me to be. To exist. And yet, what if biology fails, if the pituitary doesn't produce growth hormone. Not pulling its weight. Pituitary slacker. One little part, not doing it's thing, and the rest doesn't grow. All the other parts can't change, can't become what they are. The block to everything else changing, growing, thriving, the block to being. And I think of that part of ourselves that blocks. Our own Failure to Thrive. At this age. At this stage of life. The part that slacks, keeps us stuck. On pause. Not growing into who we can become. Following our dreams. Our passions. What we truly love. And what is the answer? The solution? The prescription that will fix it, cure it, solve it. Tidy it up. Neatly. And what if there isn't one? What if Not Knowing is an opportunity. An opening to meet new people, be vulnerable, ask for help, a gift really. A chance to learn, to overcome, to create a miracle.