Postcards from a Saturday Afternoon...

It's funny how life changes. Well, maybe that is misleading. It's funny how the little things in life change.

It's saturday afternoon, after a long morning of tidying, listening to music, going for a walk, and surfing a little internet. I've really enjoyed the day so far. I'm sitting in the living room, and watching Gord sit and play... and surprised at how much I enjoy just sitting and watching him. It was at that moment I realized how things have changed in the last 3 months. Before Gord, my saturday's consisted of generally the same routine - the early wake up, the cleaning, going for walks, etc - however I never seemed to be really happy with that. Don't get me wrong, I was happy, but I always seemed to be bored. Really bored. Again, don't get me wrong, I had fun with Kim, but I think she would agree with me - life was relatively boring.

And so as I sit here watching Gord, I realize how long it's been since I've been bored. I think more importantly, I am increasingly aware of this moment in time, and not waiting for something else.

Anyhow, before I get annoying (sorry if it's too late), I'll blabber on about something else.

I try and put myself in his shoes as often as possible. Sure, it's a little more difficult when he is this young, but it is something I hope to be acutely aware of as he grows. I try and think of how he looks at the world, and how different it is from the world I grew up in. I wonder how that is going to shape him, and what he is going to remember when he thinks back to the '2ks' or 'dimes'.

For me, I remember really bad hair (everyone's hair always seemed so big and puffy), mustaches (every one had a mustache), horrific clothes (shoulder pads, neon, and faded baseball style long-sleeve t-shirts), and a general easy-goingness that is purely lacking nowadays.

With all the technology, continuously growing acceptance/tolerance of the violence on t.v/in music, and a more globally aware society being provided a consistent negative/fear mongering message portrayed in the media, how will this affect Gord? Perhaps my bigger concern is how this is going to affect everyone growing with him. I am fairly confident Kim and I can hold back some of the damage that could be caused by this bombardment of bleakness we are all too often subjected to... but what about his peers? This reminds me of a comment I made to Kim about 2 months ago when we were sitting beside a gang of Mennonites, who seemed so content - I mentioned how easily I could throw everything away, and take up a simpler life (Mennonite less the religion part I guess).

As I say this though, I contemplate if this is a right attitude to take. How much resistance should I put up against change. I'm sure my parents had concerns about the world I was growing up in. After all, they experienced the cold war, nuclear threats, practicing 'bomb drills' under their desk etc.

I guess the best I can hope for is our kids to grow up with happy memories. That I have control over.

Ok, I've started annoying myself, so...

Cheers.