The Future Is Ours To See
It's an often absurd question for a kid.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
And there's an awkward balance, as a parent, as you try and nudge your child down a certain path. In this day and age it is truly mind-boggling as the costs of college are through the roof, and there are no guarantees. I do remember one of my college professors saying:
"The work you put in will be what you eventually take out."
And that was great advice, but it took a long time to decide where to go and who to believe.
I think that's fair for everyone and the illusions often give way to a life of grinding your way.
We have one boy in college. He seems to be on a focused path and it'll likely work for him. He works hard.
As long as he doesn't have to get his hands dirty.
Coming down the line is Jake and he has a pat answer for his future.
"I can cook meth in an RV with my science teacher."
He certainly appears drawn to entertainment and is a king of social media, but he just wants to wait it all out.
"I'm enjoying my childhood."
(That was a leftover line from Matt's first 18 years of leisure).
And that's the way it certainly should be. There's a lot of time to NOT enjoy certain things.
Sam?
He's still locked in on the NBA career. The Chicago Bulls are recruiting him now, in secret, so as to not tip off the other teams.
Yet there is certainly angst as the parent. In the end, you just want joy for the kids, right? My wife is intent on helping them with every single detail until their 50th birthday.
Yet, as I told Jake the other day, the next ten years sets up the following forty or so.
"A lot of people make early mistakes that are hard to come back from," I said. "You just have to kind of lay low and figure it all out."
He was having none of it.
"Even guys who want to cook blue meth with their science teachers make mistakes at this age?"
He dialed up a You Tube video of a hockey goal from the night before.
We watched Ovechkin rifle a shot from an impossible angle to beat the goalie.
That was the end of the serious talk of the future.
As it should be.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
And there's an awkward balance, as a parent, as you try and nudge your child down a certain path. In this day and age it is truly mind-boggling as the costs of college are through the roof, and there are no guarantees. I do remember one of my college professors saying:
"The work you put in will be what you eventually take out."
And that was great advice, but it took a long time to decide where to go and who to believe.
I think that's fair for everyone and the illusions often give way to a life of grinding your way.
We have one boy in college. He seems to be on a focused path and it'll likely work for him. He works hard.
As long as he doesn't have to get his hands dirty.
Coming down the line is Jake and he has a pat answer for his future.
"I can cook meth in an RV with my science teacher."
He certainly appears drawn to entertainment and is a king of social media, but he just wants to wait it all out.
"I'm enjoying my childhood."
(That was a leftover line from Matt's first 18 years of leisure).
And that's the way it certainly should be. There's a lot of time to NOT enjoy certain things.
Sam?
He's still locked in on the NBA career. The Chicago Bulls are recruiting him now, in secret, so as to not tip off the other teams.
Yet there is certainly angst as the parent. In the end, you just want joy for the kids, right? My wife is intent on helping them with every single detail until their 50th birthday.
Yet, as I told Jake the other day, the next ten years sets up the following forty or so.
"A lot of people make early mistakes that are hard to come back from," I said. "You just have to kind of lay low and figure it all out."
He was having none of it.
"Even guys who want to cook blue meth with their science teachers make mistakes at this age?"
He dialed up a You Tube video of a hockey goal from the night before.
We watched Ovechkin rifle a shot from an impossible angle to beat the goalie.
That was the end of the serious talk of the future.
As it should be.
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