Childhood passions

In my last post I mentioned that my daughter, Kayley, was a computer whiz. What I failed to mention was that I helped created the computer monster that she is today. When she was little, I wanted to give her every opportunity to learn so I bought computer programs and kid-friendly computer keyboards that would help her in that area. I had no idea she would fall in love with computers at such an early age, and that it would become one of her greatest passions (code word for addiction??). She is so amazing on the computer, able to do things I didn't even know computers could do, and she has other moms calling her for computer advice - seriously!!

So when I walked into our computer/playroom yesterday and saw her with 3 computers in front of her, I knew the monster had completely taken over. It was a Kodak moment I couldn't miss! When I took the picture, it reminded me of another picture I had taken of her years ago when she was just starting out on the computer. I dug through all my photos to find it and attached both pictures for you to see. The pictures are so similar it's almost scary!


Kayley at 2

Kayley at 13

Before you go thinking that we live such an luxurious life here in China that we can afford 3 computers, let me explain. The small white laptop is Kayley's school issued Mac for next year. The tabletop Mac is ours and so is the black laptop. We had to have a PC (the laptop) because our Mac isn't Windows compatible. And since everything computer related these days is Windows compatible (thus explaining why Bill Gates is the richest man on the face of the planet) we have 2 computers. Trust me, neither our lives nor our bank account is that extravagant!

So now that I've shared my family's computer craziness, you may be asking, What's the point of this post? Other than just the basic comedy factor of my daughter's obsession, I was thinking about the childhood dreams and passions that we all may have had at one time.

What was it so long ago that we dreamed of being or doing that we let slip through our fingers as we forged into adulthood? Why did we let it get away -- fear, failure, responsibility? Can we ever get it back or do we think it's too silly or too late in life for us to do? I don't think it's ever too late. Me taking a writing course is proof of that! I think we have to stop seeing the world through adult eyes and gain back that child-like passion and drive that we had when we were little. Or maybe we didn't lose it at all. Maybe we just buried it beneath all the adult responsibilities of life. Whatever the reason might be, I pray that you and I will take the time to really think back to those younger years and the simple joy we had in a youthful activity, and see if we can't recapture some of our passions once again. What would the rest of our lives look like if we lived it with that childhood passion? We would probably say it was the best times of our lives!

I know that for Kayley, her God-given passion for computers has yet to be extinguished. I hope it never will. Maybe she'll be the next Bill Gates or maybe she'll use her computer skills to create amazing scrapbooks for her children. Regardless of what she does, just knowing that she hasn't let the passion within her die is good enough for me.