Sunday 2 December 2007

Kids - Love them or hate them, you certainly can't ignore them

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life was all about."

"A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm."
- Bill Vaughan

Is it just me or are kids these days abnormally short? Is each generation of kids getting shorter or am I just delusional? I don't know if it's because of my height or whatever but seriously, they give the term "tiny tots" a whole new meaning. That day I was walking home from the station, and I guess school just let out or something, 'cause before I knew it, I was surrounded by tiny yelling children. I felt like Dorothy in Munchkinland. And how they screeched! Ugh, felt like whacking the brats. Don't get me wrong, I love kids. But sometimes they can be... annoying. Like when they're all around you and you just want them to vanish. Or when you're trying to walk on the bloody footpath but keep having to stop 'cause some kid gets in the way who is so freakin tiny. Honestly! Three of them put together wouldn't match up to me. And when you're in a taxi in the midst of horrendously heavy headache inducing traffic, and you're just about to get past the signal and a kid decides to run across the street and the taxi has to brake to a sudden halt making you miss the green light, compelling you to wait for another 5 minutes and miss your bloody train; that's when I don't love children so much. Yeah, I'm done ranting. Anyway, that day, as I was trying not to trip over the crowd of munchkins, this girl kept running to keep up with me. She was a cute little thing, sucking a lollipop and dancing around everywhere. And there were another couple of tots racing to touch all the railings on the side of the footpath first. And as I looked at them feeling a mixture of annoyance and urge to laugh, I thought about how great it is to just be a kid. Seriously, think about it. The world is a happy place. Their biggest worry is whether they'll get that bicycle they wanted for their birthday or if they'll get to sit with their friend in the school bus or if they're gonna get an ice-cream after dinner. They don't have to worry about responsibilities and heartbreak and lack of self-confidence and all that crap. Responsibility for them is not breaking their brand new toy. Love is unconditional. Parents don't stop loving their child no matter what. Hurt can be dispelled with a hug and kiss from mommy. Fights with friends are forgotten the next day. An offended heart can be healed with a chocolate chip cookie. Do they have it good or what? Children are so fantastic and forgiving and loving and caring. And as they grow up, it all gets screwed up. Bang there's the selfish, narcissistic, indifferent adult. Wouldn't the world be such a better place if we just remembered what we were like as children? Unless you were really horrible kids and behaved like you were the spawn of Satan. Remembering that wouldn't improve matters. Like if two countries weren't happy with each other. If they were like kids, they would just throw a party, distribute sweets, balloons, cake, maybe a box of crayons and the powers-that-be (in the children's case - parents) would make them hug it out and all would be well again. Too bad countries are run by complicated, corrupt men and women instead of children. No wonder world peace is the need of the hour.

OK, I just downloaded the Second Life software so I'm gonna go try it out. Yeah, I should probably be studying seeing how my exams begin tomorrow and all. Eh well, where's the fun in doing the right thing? Right? Right. I read this acronym in the paper today. TGIF. It means Thank God It's Friday. Well, I'm gonna sign off with my very own made up acronym. HFIAM. Holy Flipshit It's Almost Monday!