Backstory
There is concern these days about the world into which we are bringing children. What kind of future will they have in this great land of America? Is it as promising as once it was?
When we suddenly had three little boys enter the family all at the same time, it got me to thinking about things like that.
Three Baby Boys
They were born just months apart; three grand-babies for my lucky sister. It was such a surprise when her married children announced they were all pregnant, one after the other. She could not wait to have all three babies in one place at one time.
This summer it happened. The whole family gathered – from Chicago, New Jersey, Virginia – and celebrated the first birthdays of all three babies.
It was amazing how different they all were. One was already walking – toddling around the picnic grounds as independently as you please. One had a look of fine concentration; like he was taking everything in and had profound unspoken knowledge. The third was complacent and charming, smiling all the while and cuddling with anyone who offered their hands to hold him.
I was thinking my future and yours lie in the hands of these three baby men and thousands like them who are just coming into our world, our society, and our environment. What values will they have as they grow up? What morals will they uphold? What will the world expect of them?
The only thing I could predict for sure is that they will all be different from the way I was brought up. Very different. Better? Worse? History has yet to tell.
But as I kissed their sweet cheeks and felt the warmth of their smiles, I felt that my future was in good hands.
P.S. These babies will learn a new kind of balance between work and life. They will be judged by vastly different rules and norms. Their language will be full of words their parents never knew. They will be baffled by the things we believed and accepted. Parents and grandparents will be left in the dust of modern comprehension – just as we left the last two generations behind us.
[Show #303]