Changing my mind...

My son is almost someone I don't know. Every time I look at him I am amazed at how he has grown and how he is maturing. He is 16 now and I swear it was a week ago he was running around in his osh kosh b'gosh overalls grabbing my leg. My daughters are the same way. I still find it hard to imagine that one has her own place! The other went to the beach with her friends and NO parents!

Kids change. We all know that. What I find amazing is how they never stop changing but even more how they never stop changing us, if we let them. If we let them.

I think as we get older we get more set in our ways, less open to change and new ideas. "I know what I like" seems to be a mantra and I suspect it comes from having "been around the track a few times" making us think we've seen it all and thus know it all. This dulls us to the world and some of its changes.

Kids, they experience something new almost everyday. They are used to it and thrive on it. Change and new experiences are all they've ever known. They've not been lulled to sleep by the same routine and process each day. They spend time with friends, who spend time with other friends, etc. This makes access to new information happen exponentially to them. Add to that the web, Xbox, cell phones, mobile web, Facebook, etc. and they know things before they happen. I think we have to adapt to their world so we don't lose touch of them and the world, too.

I am on Facebook each day. I did it to keep tabs on my kids and to see who they're on-line friends were. Then I started getting "friend requests" from people I know my age that I work with, used to work with, met through work. This was great. I can keep up with folks easier and we can remain close. Then neighbors linked up and then old school friends, some whom I have not seen in 30+ years!

I like this and I like how it shrinks the world a little bit and makes us closer. I also like how it makes me think about a lot of things. I like connecting with people I don't see or have not seen in a while.

My kids keep me on my toes, constantly making me think, innovate and change how I see the world. That is good for me and it keeps me in touch with them.

Thanks kids. Keep making me grow. Don't ever change.