While I am more "take it or leave it" when it comes to Puusti the dog, I am glad that Smallsteps has made him a part of her life, even though occasionally she does complain about having to take him out - even though I am the slave dog-walker most days. But, that is part of being a kid. She is really good with him and feeds him when she needs and when the weather is good at least, will take him on longer walks, talking to him all the way.
It is also nice when the two of us go for a walk with him together and we talk about random silly things. I don't get a lot of spontaneous joy from life these days, so I take what I can get when Smallsteps and I talk our nonsense and I love that she is getting wittier and more sarcastic, but still has that little kid innocence.
She might be the only reason I am still semi-sane.
She is also the only reason I want this world to be a better place. If it wasn't for her, I'd likely just throw my hands up in the air and say "fuck it" and turn a blind eye. I could try to live the ignorance is bliss life, be completely selfish, do only the things I want and not care about the consequences for me, or for others.
But she is here, so I have to try something.
Even if it doesn't work.
When unattached to others, it doesn't matter how many bridges are burned, because no relationship needs to survive. Just flit from place to place doing what is desired and when it no longer works, move on and leave the damage behind. With kids however, that isn't really possible - at least for most parents. There isn't the possibility to live life on a burning platform, because the children will need somewhere to stand.
I think there are a lot of people without kids who think they care about what is happening in and to the world, but I think they would have quite a different perspective, if they had kids of their own. There is something about the attachment and the assumed responsibility that requires a kind of seriousness that might not be possible with other circumstances. Perhaps it is possible, but maybe it is very unlikely.
It forces consideration for the future and in so doing, exploring what is required now. It means sacrifice and putting the needs of others first. It could be a selfish act because there is skin in the game, but it is an act that has kept us evolving and advancing for hundreds of thousands of years. So what happens when the majority of people do not have children and therefore, do not have a tether to the future?
Will anything past an individual life matter?
And if not, that is the end.
Taraz
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