Our Children are Going to Change the World

Good Saturday Morning!   

I’m editing this post right now and I just realized it’s Sunday. I thought it was Saturday for nearly 3 hours!

Good Sunday Morning!! 

I had every intention to sleep in this morning, however my thoughts had other plans.  I was woken up bright and early needing to relieve my bladder, much like every morning, ya know… because I am aging and apparently that’s a thing, but we are not here to talk about my morning bathroom routines.

I laid down to try to go back to sleep and I had a theory pop into my brain that was so loud. I tried to silence it, I tried to tell my thoughts not right now, it’s sleep time. 

No relief. 

So now I’m at my keyboard. Lucky you! You get to hear the shit that goes through my brain when I want to be sleeping.

I struggle with using the words “I believe” to start telling you about my theory.

Because … Beliefs are a huge deal right now.

“A belief is just a thought that you keep thinking” – Abraham Hicks.

Having a belief in something does not mean that that is the one and only way that it is more true than the rest. 

I believe, but not in the way that my mind cannot explore other possibilities, that racism and intolerance is sometimes taught in the home, and I also believe that the children we are raising right now, are going to change the world. 

The reason why I think these humans are going to save this world is what shot me out of bed at 6 am. 

Ooh hell and it’s so obvious I think. I’m sure I’m not the first person to have this thought.

I am 36, so that is before the time where handheld devices were letting us see and learn about anything we wanted. When I was little I listened to The Beatles, The Doors, Creedence Clearwater, because that’s what my father liked and I love that music even now. 

Before I had access to friends, before I was old enough to go and be around other people in their homes listening to their music, the bands above and all the other ones in that genre are what existed in my world. 

Because we are human,

because being around people like us makes us feel safe, chances are your parents’ friends were a lot like your parents; enjoyed the same kinds of things, maybe went to the same church, shared the same political party….. 

I was 35 years old before I realized I am not a Republican. Bbbwwaaa! 

Keep reading, I promise this isn’t a political post. Or maybe it is a little. Right now I think nearly every part of our lives is intertwined in a little bit of politics of some sort. I don’t even know anymore. 

I didn’t have any interest in learning anything about politics until fairly recently. I didn’t follow it, I didn’t watch the news. I promise I’m not dumb, I just didn’t care or have interest until lately… if you know what I mean. 

I literally had to Google what each of the parties stood for. I thought I was Republican almost like I thought I was LDS. Well, my parents are this, so I guess I’m this too.  

I was like holy shitballs!! That google search led me down a rabbit hole of political topics… that’s all we will say about that subject.

Really, all I want to do is go back and live in my uneducated, delusional, happy bubble. 

Lets move on.

So, children are pretty much born with IPhones in their hands now right?  When my youngest was 2, I had to have him help me with my Iphone.

Facts.

I no longer have an Iphone, they are too complicated for me, but that is beside the point.  

Our children have unbelievable access to anything they want to put in their brains. While that is very scary and there’s some very crappy stuff out there – it’s amazing the shit they can learn on their own. 

My kids are telling me stuff like:

 “Mom, there are these two guys that live in the amazon jungle that build whole houses with nothing but sticks and their hands using only the natural materials around them.” 

 “Hey mom, I watched this documentary on YouTube the other day and it scared me. I think if we don’t start taking care of this world – it’s going to end in my lifetime.” 

“Mom, I was watching this guy on TikTok and he lost 100 pounds! He wants to lose more and be healthy. He posts videos of him working out. I read the comments and people are so mean to him. They tell him they don’t want to see his fat jiggle and he should stop making videos. I follow him and I like all his videos and leave nice comments because I want him to know that he is special and loved.” 

Oh my heart…. 

I think these kids, having access to all that they do, has expanded their world so much. They get to learn and interact with all different types of people, all races, all faiths, all backgrounds, all ages.  They are not just subjected to one way of thinking. They’re not growing up only ingesting what their parents are talking about.

After my kids opened my eyes to the wonderful world of TikTok,

I fell in love.

I don’t allow myself to get on very often because if I start watching videos pretty soon 2 hours passes like 5 minutes. 

First of all, the algorithms on that thing are so spot on it’s scary. My For You Page is filled with nothing but happy, funny, and inspirational videos. I’m amazed at the beauty, talent, and diversity I get to see. Behind every video is an actual human being with feelings and thoughts. I spend most of those 2 hours being sucked into TikTok crying happy tears. 

And yes I am not so naive to think that there is not a dark side of TikTok because I have seen that too…

I don’t hang out there. 

These social media platforms are both a blessing and a curse. This is where my kids are learning about things that are going on in the world,  their eyes are being opened to other peoples’ struggles and they are aware that not everyone is the same as them. 

I believe most of the older generations did not get this much diversity in their lives. I know I didn’t. I grew up in a very small town where most people shared the same ideas. 

I think that the younger generation is going to save us all because they have had exposure to other ways of life, not just growing up seeing one point of view. 

Because of this, I believe they are tolerant, inclusive, and open to change. 

I think racism won’t be as big of a problem as it is now. I think that change will happen in a way that ideas will be brought to the table to fix things that have been broken for years. 

I don’t know about you, but I am so hopeful that these open minded humans we are raising right now are going to step into power one day and make changes in a way that…..

Liberty and Justice for all…. Will in fact be –

Liberty and Justice for ALL. 

I may be delusional.  In that case, maybe my son will be right and the world will cease to exist in his lifetime.  For me,

I am choosing to believe in magic and fairy tales because that is what makes me happy. 

That’s all that really matters anyway, creating happiness and joy in our lives so we can continue to live in this sometimes cruel world. 

I may be long gone before real change happens, but I am hopeful and excited at the possibility of a world that is more….. Oh geez, this word just popped into my head, it scares me just a little that I know this word… bipartisan.

Maybe that could be a thing, for real. 

Boys, if you are reading this when you are 50, 54, and 57 – I hope my vision came true and I love you to the moon and back. I just know in my heart that you boys are going to be part of the change I wish to see in this world.  You and all of your friends teach me so much every single day. I love how you want to learn and be a part of making this world a better place, one person at a time.

Your hearts are so big. 

I was cutting a 5 year old little boy’s hair the other day and he said, “Do you want to see how big my heart is?” 

Absolutely I do! 

When I took the cape off he jumped off the chair and drew with his finger a heart that started at his chest and went down to his belly then came back up to his chest. 

“It is soooooo big! There is barely enough room for my lungs!”

Boys, your hearts are soooooo big you barely have room for your lungs! 

Kudos to that boy’s parents for teaching him that having a big heart is such a wonderful thing! 

I am one proud mama! I am so thankful I have been trusted to raise such wonderful boys with hearts as big as yours. We are in this together. I know that the world feels like it is burning down right now, and I want you to know you will always have a safe place filled with love to come home to. 

Please continue to teach me the ways of the wise grasshopper. Please challenge my ideas and my beliefs so that I can continue to learn and be a better person. I have taught you what I “believe” and hold dear to my heart – it’s time now for the teacher to become the student because I believe you know more about this new world than I do. 

With love,