Category: Children

Children, Life, Work

Idling

20120823-204444.jpg

Brain function is low, speed dropped, the acceleration has gone. Lying idly next to my son, with the breeze flapping the blind – in my record third week of holidays – I notice indolence and a mind declined.

Still the body is stronger, the face browner and the belly slimmer so I’ve got some things right. And good times, happy smiles and big hugs from the family are a very significant compensation.

But maintaining an agile mind is like running a high performance engine – it needs quality fuel, high revs and plenty of throttle to go through the gears.

Country lanes and coastal roads are all very well, but I’m about ready for a return to the rigours of the urban cycle. Work is as important as play.

Children, Life

Reasonable Accomodation

20120728-221757.jpg

Life is all about reasonable accommodation. One shouldn’t be taken for granted or for a ride. But if you can accommodate someone you should. And I’m trying to let go of ‘keeping score’ – especially in relationships and family life.

We are hard wired for equality. Perhaps the only species that is. Take chimps. Apparently, give them a resource and they’ll seek to monopolise or fight over it. Take 3-year-old children – who have similar mental resources to chimps – and they’ll naturally seek to share and equalise.

But we are also hard wired to cheat and compete; to seek advantage, freeload and be clever enough to get away with it. But good deeds beget more good deeds – and bad bad. So my mental motto is if you can ‘reasonably accommodate’, you should – even as I’m quietly harrumphing about a given task.

This morning my son wanted to balance in the car door sill before jumping out. I needed him out so I could get off to work. I could’ve shouted or I could’ve accommodated. He was happy and go lucky – why shout, it cost me but a moment.

Either me or the missus needed to go to the chemist to get some cream for him. I could’ve ignored it or accommodated – I went and got it. There are times when you can’t. But when you can, you should.

Children, Death, Life, Odysseus, Poetry

An Ordinary Day to Remember

20120722-221813.jpg

Scooting around
Nothing profound
Passing the day
Having a play
Boy and his dad
Momentarily sad
I’m in my prime
His smile is sublime
But time is finite
One day will be twilight
And then away
So remember this day.

I was talking of death with my mother-in-law this week. A relative is very ill and her cohort is slowly dying around her. She seemed a bit troubled, so we talked. I think she wants to talk about death sometimes but not many people want that conversation.

I’m ok with it though. I feel I’ve created my two time capsules nurturing two beautiful children and left them some thoughts and ideas with this blog. Let’s not tempt fate, but if a bus smashed into me tomorrow I’d have a second of pique – b@llocks – and then rest.

I’m happy with who I am and what I’ve done. Opening an improving mortgage statement letter, booking a college reunion, scooting about and making pizzas – a humdrum day. But what’s not to like. Life is good – and both quite long and quite short. So make sure to enjoy the ordinary days, I say.