This is going to be a kadoozle of a blog…

GOOD MORNING!! It’s been a little while since I have updated this and I know I left you guys with a bit of a cliff hanger (haha!) on the last post. As per usual, work, life, burnt batches of cookies and unfathomably early mornings got in the way of keeping this on its fortnight roster. I've decided for this blog there will be two parts to it. One on a bit more of a deep & meaningful perspective (god bless those D&M conversation days) and then of course just a filler on some more funny stuff I've encountered on at work, on public transportation and just everywhere else I seem to go. Go grab a double double, a cup of tea or a JD and coke and make yourself cozy.

It takes a village to raise a child…

Here’s the deep and meaningful bit I have to get out of the way. So judging by the title, you’ve probably assumed I’m going to go on some kind of a parenting rant and rope the government into it too. Quite the opposite, actually. In the last four months I’ve been here, a few friends have announced they’re expecting (congratulations!) and others are trying. It is absolutely inevitable that I’ve reached my twenties. My newsfeed on facebook is no longer bombarded with beer pong championship pictures and blackout status updates and tweets. Now, it’s engagement announcements, pregnancy posts and the “my life is over, my kid can hold their own spoon so next week they’re gonna ask me for a lexus” updates. But hey, we’re all in this together. SO, with all this talk of babies and all of us 20-somethings growing up, it has got me thinking about how important it is to support friends having kids and to be there for them whenever possible. To think that they’re raising a tiny little human with an ‘empty slate’ and you can influence them, for better or for worse, is a little mind boggling! It’s quite humbling to realize that you have the ability, skills and responsibility to empower and enlighten such a young, vulnerable mind. With great power comes great responsibility. Last week, I was taking the bus home from central Sydney in peak rush hour. The bus was packed to the nines and sweltering hot. 20 minutes into the bus trip, a mum about 35 years old got onto the bus with a rather cranky, hungry and tired two year old. This kid’s screaming could have been heard from miles away and I’m pretty sure it curdled a few peoples blood. By this time, there was an old woman (about 65-70 years old) seated beside me and mumbling to herself. When this mum got on the bus with her temperamental toddler, she just about had a kitten. She yanked out my one ear phone to get my attention and started whinging to me about the situation. “Can you believe this?” she said “The nerve of this mother bringing on her toddler onto a packed bus in the middle of rush hour. What a little tramp!” Of all the people on the bus, I expected this older woman to be the first to offer a helping hand to try and calm this kid down. But instead, something completely unexpected happened. The “Gen Y’s” stepped up to the plate. iPhones and ear buds were tucked away and four 20-something year old uni students started playing games with this little kid and shared their fruit snacks with him. This kid had an ear-to-ear grin and the whole bus could sense this frazzled mother’s appreciation. I’m sure most of the people on the bus expected an older person to try and calm this toddler down. “Gen Y” is often too criticized for being ultra-vain, narcissistic and facebook obsessed. Maybe we are to some degree. But, strip us of all that, we’re not all that bad. We’ve been taught well by our parents and are one of the more caring and understanding generations. We aren’t likely to scorn that mother bringing the toddler on the packed bus, but instead help her out and make everyone’s bus ride home a little bit better. We’re a generation that grew up in a rapidly changing time with everything from politics to technology. We’ve grown up without ever having to really make sacrifice but we are true victims of sky-high divorce rates and evolving families. We’re a little lazy at times because we were spoon fed too much in life. Yet we’re harshly criticized when we don’t have the adequate skills to complete a job or live our lives as proper functioning adults. Maybe one day, the older generation will come to realize we’re not as bad as we’re pegged to be. We’re rather different and narcissistic, but take some time to break down our barrier and we’re a good bunch. Don’t let a few rotten apples spoil the bushel.