When I grow up....

I've been meaning to post this for awhile, but just haven't gotten around to it. I was going to reply to Kristy's comment on my last post, but the more I thought about it, the more I had to say. So I decided that another post was in order. Basically, my reply was going to be, "Isn't it great to watch your children discover their talents and develop their interests?"

When I was in college I spent the first two years trying to "find myself" and deciding what I wanted to do with my life. It finally struck me that I wanted to be a writer. And the funny thing is that I knew that when I was a kid. I loved to write. I always did. I made my friends play "newspaper". I wrote a small play involving space aliens and President Bush (the first). And I wrote in my "All about me" American Girl book that I was going to be an author when I grew up.

I look at my kids and wonder if they already know what they want to be when they grow up too. I wonder if Rion's love of Legos will lead him to engineering. Or will it be his fascination with the human body that will lead him to medical school? Will Torii pursue Olympic gold in gymnastics because he spends half of his day on his hands rather than his feet? Will Cordelia become an artist because she always has her crayons and a notebook within reach?

It's fun to speculate and wonder what the future holds for your children, but it will be their decision to make in the end. And I will love them no matter what they choose. Even if they decide the being a rodeo clown is what will make them happy. Then I will look back at their childhood and say, "Yes, that makes sense. You always liked taunting large animals."