Sorry for the rant...

There are days when I wonder if bringing children into the world was the smartest idea on my part. I love my kids more than anything in this world, but what kind of world do they have before them? Earthquake in Christchurch, which really jarred us, since Eric and I lived there for only a very short time, but absolutely fell in love with the place and people. Earthquake in Japan and a possible nuclear meltdown. Massive protests throughout the Middle East, which are as exciting as they are unnerving--will the people attain the freedom they're hoping for, or will they fall into the hands of another dictatorial regime? As if there weren't enough unsettling news on the tv, I watched Inside Job last night. Should I just use cash for everything and stuff all of my money under my mattress in protest against the government officials who are refusing to do anything to prevent another financial catastrophe? And how about our schools? Will my kids be able to thrive there, and will they be instilled with a genuine passion for learning, or will they just be bored? I want the world to be such a better place for my boys, but are the actions I take really making an impact at all? Heck, do they even offset the damage I do to the environment as a typical American?

Fear manifests itself so differently for children. Logan has been asking for us to leave his closet light on at night to keep the monsters out. He didn't think my defense strategies of talking back to the monsters or spraying monster repellent around his room were good enough. What are monsters except those nameless, shapeless fears that one day become more real than our childish minds could imagine? And as I think about how much I trivialize Logan's fear of monsters, how much I wish he would stop wasting his time worrying that some imagined beast is going to chew on his hand (that's what he's worried about, folks), I realize that the worrying I'm doing is pretty wasteful, too. Maybe my actions won't do much to offset the crap that happens everywhere else, but I leave the closet light on anyway--it's a simple and ridiculous act, but it keeps the monsters away, and that's really all that matters in the end.