On Magic

With over 30 hours of driving time together a few weeks back as we took Ella to her mom's for a visit outside of New Orleans, Matt and I had lots of time to talk. When we weren't weary of the road construction and other drivers and rain, when we weren't singing along to tunes, we were talking of future plans, present thoughts, and sharing stories of youth--even down to Matt relaying a story of the first kid in his hometown to discover gummy worms--all those little-big wonders of our childhood. So much in those days was word of mouth, which only added to the mystique. I wonder about "kids these days." And I don't aim to sound like an old curmudgeon, but I think about the vast number of new things they are exposed to at the warp speed of internet and various forms of media and I wonder if it takes away from the magic of childhood. I think of my kids who aren't largely spoiled with material things and yet how quickly the thrill of the gifts they do receive vanish. And maybe that's because they live in a world awash with advertisements and consumerism. What's so special about anything when everything is available? Will they in turn grow up unsatisfied or wasteful? Not if I can help it! When you become a parent all of the sudden it draws to the surface values that you had no reason to name before. When I became a mom phrases like "want what you have" and "go outside and play" took up residence on my tongue. What has become clear is that I see one of my roles is to nurture their ability to see the beauty in the little things so that when they grow up they'll be able to make due and be happy with anything they face. I can't help but think that the magic of childhood stays with us--keeps us soft, rewards us with the fun of simplicity.