He thought about how quickly the previous years had passed.
There had been a time when he believed that significant personal milestones would always lie somewhere in the future. He could finish another project, travel for another production, and concentrate on family life afterward.
But afterward had a way of becoming another year.
Another film.
Another demanding commitment.
Another period of absence.
And children did not stop growing while adults completed their responsibilities.
In the imagined scene, he began to understand that even a wonderful career could become overwhelming if he allowed it to occupy every available space in his life.
He did not regret the work that had brought him success.
He was proud of the discipline and sacrifice that had made those achievements possible.
But pride in the past was no longer enough to determine what he wanted from the future.
For the first time, he was beginning to measure his life differently.
