When I was the same age as my little ones, it always seemed that all the world was a stage and that life was a movie starring myself. Outside of my agenda, nothing else really seemed to matter. I could never see the dangers that lie ahead in life. The let downs and the downsides that I would later experience.
There was change happening all around, but I couldn’t see it, couldn’t understand it. I wasn’t able to recognize that the world was in constant motion, and that life would not stay the same way forever. The time was magical. It was full on wonderment and excitement.
Now I have two little ones of my own, and the view of the world has changed so much. Through a new set of eyes, a dad’s eyes, the world is a much different place. Activities that, as a child, seemed so harmless, I now look at with fear while watching my children. All the cool games we played, all of the cool things we got into, they no longer seem so cool. They seem dangerous, and sometimes, even dumb.
I remember all of the fun things we used to say in elementary school because we thought we were cool, or just because we weren’t near our parents. Those phrases, words, and jokes are now the very things that my ears dread hearing from my own kiddos. They are the very things that I feel like I have to say “no” to a thousand times a minute.
But that is life, right?
I guess that’s how it is when you grow up and have children. The world is in a constant state of change, but so am I. The view through the window is never the same twice, and neither is the view from the eye’s of a dad. I want the best for my children, for them to be happy, healthy and safe. I don’t see the world as I once did. I know about the dangers, the unfairness, the let downs my children will face. I don’t see the unending canvas of endless possibilities of fun and excitement. But I do remember what it was like, and I promote and applaud my children for that same view.
My eyes see the world in a different light now. That’s part of the job and part of growing up. I see the world as a dad would see it. A scary place to set your kids into, a place of uncertainty and excitement. A challenge to show the world who I am as a dad as it reflects through my children. A challenge against the visions of manhood we see displayed all around us, and a fight against the way the world depicts me as being a dad. I see it as a place that needs a lot more change before my kids become full fledged members of society.
Maybe I’m just rambling, and perhaps the words will get lost with the past views that have passed in front of my window. Perhaps it’s not the world that has changed, just me
