Life has an interesting way of presenting us with choices. Sometimes they don’t feel like choices, but they are choices nonetheless. I was reminded yesterday, as I gave choices to my son. Choose different behavior, or lose computer privileges. Guess what he chose? Yeah, no computer time for him this week. Somehow, it’s my fault that he lost his computer time. Those of you who are parents will understand how this conversation goes. We had quite a bit of discussion about this topic, the rest of the afternoon. The afternoon that we planned to go out exploring as a family, looking for interesting things in our area to see and do. We still went out on the excursion, but there was a cloud of discontent hanging in the backseat.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t raining and it was a beautiful afternoon outside. I found some interesting things to photograph, and being out and about with my camera kept me calm and cool. I was excited to find this interesting green building, in the tiny town of Harrisburg, south of Corvallis. Even more interesting, was the green door of the green building. The shapes, color and subtle texture were fun to compose.

I have this sneaking suspicion though, that this image of the green door is always going to remind me of the day that I truly realized that teenager-hood is just around the corner. That parenting through the next few years is going to be so much harder than it has been up to now. That the choices I’m making now will affect what my son learns about how to navigate the world around him as an adult. Whether or not he learns to connect the dots: Regardless of what life presents you, you always have a choice in how you respond.

We all have to learn this lesson. Maybe again and again, for some of us. Somehow, this simple image of the green door is always going to remind me: When life presents us with a challenge, we always have the choice in how we respond.