When I Grow Up I want To Be...

Happy? To know what happiness is and how to find it when its definition and trajectory alter?

Today's reading...by Persia!

I never grew up 'knowing' what I wanted to be. I never had those girly childhood ideals about marriage (yes or no), weddings (definitely vs. hell noooo), babies (with the right man maybe?), or probably even life beyond...this day I... I never remember thinking about the future or what tomorrow was about. It saddens me a great deal that I hadn't those naturals ideas/feelings/thoughts and that they were never taught/encouraged/stimulated to any extent. Even at University I didn't know and went with what I excelled at. And why couldn't that have been engineering instead of archaeology??? Seriously! This inability, lacking innateness, has, and still does to some degree, make my life and defining my goals, difficult.

These thoughts and plans, and ideals, are something that we talk about with Romeo and Persia often. About life, dreams, how to be (good and bad), about being moral and just, right and caring. Blah blah, yada yada. I know. I am still trying to find what makes me  happy and here I am trying to instill in my children the very things I am still not 100% sure about sometimes. (I am sure about the happiness thing though!)

But, and it is a very big but, it is important that they think about things beyond this second, beyond themselves, beyond life, beyond the four sides of the very square box that can become ones comfort zone or bounded box! Of all the people and families I know, ours is less coventional. Our boxes exist sometimes, but are generally different. We are a multi-cultural, multi-belief family, which makes for interesting, mixed, similar, different and opposing ideals and ideas.


Romeo currently loves playing Rugby!

We have something that is great, though, we are parents. Parents with an ability to recognise what is important to us for our children, and to define what was great, but also where we lacked something that seems important or where we 'went askew'. Being able to highlight the good, bad, evil, and darn right ugly, helps us better guide our children in life's trials and tribulations.

We are able to come together (for the most part) to make decisions that are right based on our children and life as we live it in our house.

Our children are happy, well-balanced individuals at this moment in their lives. They think, they question, they challenge, they judge, and they are able to make their own decisions supported by us, their guardians. We will continue to do what is best and will encourage and support them in their changing lives as growing, changing individuals.

Romeo wrote this note for Persia. It kind of says it all about how our family esteems to support each other!

For about 2 of her 3.5 years of life, Persia has shown something that I never personally experienced with any great esteem. She is drawn to something of great interest. All things human life and body. I mean, since before she was 2 years old she has shown a keen interest in injury and health with an attitude of solving the issue at hand. Since then she leans closely over her brother's or her own (oft bloody) injuries with fascination. *Squirm*

She looks at human anatomy and biology books alot and does not skim the pages but looks in great detail at what is what and what goes where. My favourite question is 'what is this?' (luckily for me she already has the books in front of her so I can casually skim the pages for answers before she realises I don't actually know). In saying that, I sometimes find it necessary and beneficial to say that that is interesting but I don't know so let's find out together. It gives us some quality bonding time and we learn too.

One of the questions I get the most is 'what is inside our bones?'. That a 3 year old is interested enough to wait for the answer is amazing to me! I appreciate all the colourful diagrams that our books have, with the myriad of information and answers that even littlies can comprehend (to a degree at least). Soon I will introduce her to the world of human biology and anatomy online. I am sure there must exist Ipad apps for people interested in such topics.

Today we have been revisiting what is inside the human bone and it is fascinating. Compact bone, spongy bone, bone marrow (makes 200 million new red blood cells every day!),....Doctor Persia? I wonder. I encourage. I label (probably shouldn't). I support her interest.

Me: "What do you want to be when you grow up, Persia?". Persia: "Umm, a farmer!" Perfect! That is her other crazy fascination. See an animal..."I want to pick it up!". Yeah, farmer suits. Perhaps we could tweak the two and how about being a veterinarian Pershi baby?

Did you ever experience such notions of the future, dream your future? Become what you dreamed for your future?