Life moves so quickly... Hold on for the ride!

Recently, the church across the road had a block letter sign out the front saying "Your children only get one childhood"...and it dawned on me how important a great childhood really is.

Luca is a year old now and as he grows I'm starting to re-live my own childhood. The amusement of toys, the excitement of the world, rediscovering things that seemed mundane (like a simple stroll to the shops equates to an Indiana Jones style adventure).

It's great...and I know what this whole parenting thing is about. But would it be different if my childhood was shit? I believe so.

I'm glad I had an awesome childhood, I'm one of the lucky ones..and it's not until I had a child for myself that I appreciate the things my parents did for my brother and I.

The swimming lessons, the ballet, the saxophone, the clarinet, the tennis, the basketball, the baseball, the netball, the family holidays, the outfits, the dinners, the parties....everything my mum and dad offered to us made my childhood the best it could be. It wasn't that we had a lot of money, it was the quality time my parents spent making sure we had the best time we could in whatever we chose, with what we had.

There was never a moment I can remember that my parents forced us to do anything. If we had an interest in something, they nurtured it...and if we turned around and said 'well actually, I don't think I want to do that anymore'..they didn't think it was the end of the world. Their attitude was 'ok what else interests you?'...and off we went discovering what other fun activity was out there.

These experiences turned us into the people we are today.

On a personal note, I strongly believe it gave me the confidence to travel across the world by myself and experience all life has to offer, to live on my own in the big bad city at a young age and be responsible for myself and not depend on my parents to bail me when I couldn't make the rent....and to eventually settle down with the right person, get married and start a family...the right way around.

I also think it has shaped my life to never settle for 'The Mediocre' of life but to always seek new things and educate, excite and grow spiritually.

Deep I know for a Wednesday night. :-)

But my dilemma is...how do I offer the childhood I had to my son? When life is now different to the 70's and 80's?

We live in an apartment, my husband and I both have to work to pay off the mortgage and if we eventually own a house, we'll be seeing less of each other, which also means Luca will be spending more time with his grandparents or in daycare rather than in our close-knit family unit.

I know, everyone in todays' world has this sorta family pain...whether both parents are at work, or life is just faster meaning everyone is time poor....but what will this generation of daycare grown, reality watching, iphone wielding, faceforking, blue steel poser kids be like?

Will there be any damage?

I know Luca wont be the first kid to grow up in an apartment, or be the first kid without a pool, or a backyard...but I'm not sure I'm willing to let go of the dream that one day he will live in a house identical to my childhood home and have the opportunities I had.

Am I living in a fantasy world? Maybe. I mean, there are kids out there who have everything, have been given everything their heart desires and are a waste of space.

Only time will tell.

In the meantime, I interview, I search, I earn da money.. not so I can keep up with the Jones'es...but so one day Luca will be writing on his blog that he had the best childhood ever too.

I live in hope.

Good Night
xxx