6

Almost, but not quite.

That's what you say to a child who's an inch shy of 48. Denying him the fear and exhilaration that the roller coaster can bring is safe and sorrowful. Restrict him by the threshold and he'll never know the thrill. Let him ride and fear may seize him forever.

Fortunately, you don't need to make the choice. We already know he isn't ready now. We have paper rules and uncrossed lines to tell us so. He isn't ready now, and all he needs is time. One day, he will be ready to choose what it is he wants, so let us hope he chooses well.

We stand here at the cusp, not as lucky. We're not shy of 48 seconds, minutes, hours, days? Time is ours for the taking, with an amount undefined. Not counting down the moments, but counting up the time. Excuses don't exist when we make the rules. But even the rules don't say where to cross the lines, especially when the end is undefined.

What do you do then if you don't exactly know the end? If you're asking if it's almost, but always knowing it's not quite?