it’s still technically Friday because I’m still awake, right?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how different my life would be if I were a parent. What I couldn’t do that I can right now; what I would do but don’t think to now; what I’d want to do to make sure that I was giving a kid the best life possible. Part of me feels like every minute should be spent in some kind of interaction, some supervised productive activity, some way to engage. But that’s just not realistic. Sometimes kids have to do their own thing. And it’s not always going to be edifying, or educating, or enlightening. Sometimes they just get to be kids. And that’s okay. No, it’s not okay to sit in front of a screen of some sort every waking minute. No, it’s not okay to refuse to ingest anything with any kind of nutritional value. But it is okay to have different preferences and tastes.

The trick is, finding ways to bring the two extremes together. Video games aren’t all violent, and movies aren’t all mind-numbing. Books aren’t all masterpieces, and good-for-you foods sometimes tastes like shit.

I’m learning.

Today’s link is to my girlfriend’s new blog, and her post about the military, stop-loss, and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

I’ve always been connected to the military in one way or another; my dad was in the Navy, my brother in the Army, I have a good friend who is still in the Army now, and of course my partner is former Navy. We’ve talked about the possibility of her returning once the policy is repealed; it has its good and bad points, and we’ll certainly weigh them more deliberately when the time comes, but even the idea of it being an option is an indication of the fact that we, as a country, are finally making some great strides toward equality.

What are your thoughts? Share them here or there, or both!