Turns out that the transition from pandemic life to “normal” life was harder than many of us thought.
I wanted to write something positive, something inspiring. I dug deep within my soul, into the deepest darkest recesses of my heart and… came up empty-handed. Shucks!
I needed to find a source of eternal optimism, a ball of light and innocence that could, maybe, conjure some positive expectations for the new year.
Meet my daughter, eight-years-old, and despite getting smacked with that first wave of pre-pubescent hormones that morphs her into a raging soucouyant hell-bent on distressing my life, she is a natural optimist. All rainbows and until… I become an embarrassing mother… naturally.
My daughter, who I shall refer to as Bad Jack to preserve her privacy, is terrifying. She’s strong-willed, mostly fearless and too smart for her own good. (Editor’s note: Just like her mother)
To understand the small human whom we are dealing with here is a story from a few weeks ago…
We are in the car with a couple of her friends, who are informing me of all the love triangles in their class and who’s the sweet man everyone has crushes on. My daughter is dead quiet.
After dropping her friends off, I tell Bad Jack that she’s at the age where she may start to have feelings of affection towards someone and that’s totally normal and if she has any questions or wants to talk, I am here.
Bad Jack turns to me with a totally expressionless face, “Mum, I like to think of myself as a lone wolf, I have a lot to get done right now. I plan on winning another school award this year. I am thinking about what I need to start doing to build my empire when I am adult. I really don’t have time for boys.”
Ermm. I reply, “Well baby all I can say is, keep your heart open to love.”
Bad Jack, “Not at 8!” Conversation done.
Never been prouder.
So, I looked to my Bad Jack for some inspiration this week and here’s how it went:
Me: “Tell me what your hopes are for 2023?”
Bad Jack stands up, soap box politician style, “I think as a nation we have a lot of potential to be great, just need to get our act together. And people really need to stop littering, we need to get more serious about the environment. I am tired of seeing litter in the sea, we need to start recycling and people need to stop being nasty.”
Me: “Agreed. But back to this year, what would you say your best moment of this year was?”
Bad Jack, “This moment.”
Me:”This moment?”
Bad Jack: “Yeah, look around mum. We are all together as a family, none of us are sick, we have food, we have a house, we have each other. This moment, where we are all together and relaxed is my favourite moment. Are we done, cause I was watching something?”
Bruh, (which Bad Jack regularly calls me) I was not expecting. But she’s right. It’s easy to focus on all that is wrong with our lives, to get caught up in waves of chaos around us and in doing so we become blinded to the good.
We keep looking for these big, great, amazing events and often fail to recognise the beauty of the now and all of small things that are truly our blessings. A moment with a friend, time spent with family, having a roof over our heads, food in our stomachs, a second to relax.
Therefore instead of making a dumb list of new year’s resolutions or a call to our leaders to stop being self-serving douchebags for the new year, I simply ask for all of us to focus on moments to togetherness. Even it is isolated times in which we/one feel a sense of wholeness with another.
Well that and stop littering. Homegirl was right we have the potential to be amazing but our own stubbornness, greed, race/party loyalty and gimme gimme continue to hold us back.
Also, in regard to Bad Jacks’s wishes can we please stop littering? I mean, it’s gross now and proper legislation and recycling facilities need to be put in place.
I should give a great, poignant ending, but frankly I’m a little dry. So to sum up Bad Jack: Enjoy every little blessing, be it sunshine or food on your plate and don’t litter!
2022 Sucked, Enjoy the Little Blessings
Toodles 2022! Ya sucked!
Turns out that the transition from pandemic life to “normal” life was harder than many of us thought.
I wanted to write something positive, something inspiring. I dug deep within my soul, into the deepest darkest recesses of my heart and… came up empty-handed. Shucks!
I needed to find a source of eternal optimism, a ball of light and innocence that could, maybe, conjure some positive expectations for the new year.
Meet my daughter, eight-years-old, and despite getting smacked with that first wave of pre-pubescent hormones that morphs her into a raging soucouyant hell-bent on distressing my life, she is a natural optimist. All rainbows and until… I become an embarrassing mother… naturally.
My daughter, who I shall refer to as Bad Jack to preserve her privacy, is terrifying. She’s strong-willed, mostly fearless and too smart for her own good. (Editor’s note: Just like her mother)
To understand the small human whom we are dealing with here is a story from a few weeks ago…
We are in the car with a couple of her friends, who are informing me of all the love triangles in their class and who’s the sweet man everyone has crushes on. My daughter is dead quiet.
After dropping her friends off, I tell Bad Jack that she’s at the age where she may start to have feelings of affection towards someone and that’s totally normal and if she has any questions or wants to talk, I am here.
Bad Jack turns to me with a totally expressionless face, “Mum, I like to think of myself as a lone wolf, I have a lot to get done right now. I plan on winning another school award this year. I am thinking about what I need to start doing to build my empire when I am adult. I really don’t have time for boys.”
Ermm. I reply, “Well baby all I can say is, keep your heart open to love.”
Bad Jack, “Not at 8!” Conversation done.
Never been prouder.
So, I looked to my Bad Jack for some inspiration this week and here’s how it went:
Me: “Tell me what your hopes are for 2023?”
Bad Jack stands up, soap box politician style, “I think as a nation we have a lot of potential to be great, just need to get our act together. And people really need to stop littering, we need to get more serious about the environment. I am tired of seeing litter in the sea, we need to start recycling and people need to stop being nasty.”
Me: “Agreed. But back to this year, what would you say your best moment of this year was?”
Bad Jack, “This moment.”
Me:”This moment?”
Bad Jack: “Yeah, look around mum. We are all together as a family, none of us are sick, we have food, we have a house, we have each other. This moment, where we are all together and relaxed is my favourite moment. Are we done, cause I was watching something?”
Bruh, (which Bad Jack regularly calls me) I was not expecting. But she’s right. It’s easy to focus on all that is wrong with our lives, to get caught up in waves of chaos around us and in doing so we become blinded to the good.
We keep looking for these big, great, amazing events and often fail to recognise the beauty of the now and all of small things that are truly our blessings. A moment with a friend, time spent with family, having a roof over our heads, food in our stomachs, a second to relax.
Therefore instead of making a dumb list of new year’s resolutions or a call to our leaders to stop being self-serving douchebags for the new year, I simply ask for all of us to focus on moments to togetherness. Even it is isolated times in which we/one feel a sense of wholeness with another.
Well that and stop littering. Homegirl was right we have the potential to be amazing but our own stubbornness, greed, race/party loyalty and gimme gimme continue to hold us back.
Also, in regard to Bad Jacks’s wishes can we please stop littering? I mean, it’s gross now and proper legislation and recycling facilities need to be put in place.
I should give a great, poignant ending, but frankly I’m a little dry. So to sum up Bad Jack: Enjoy every little blessing, be it sunshine or food on your plate and don’t litter!