On Saturday morning, October 17th I did something I never do. I got my butt out of bed to pay money to see a person speak about childrearing issues. In the interest of full disclose I was also the accidental organizer of this event. Without going into the less than interesting details of that arrangement, I also knew this would be something I'd enjoy. It was, as it turns out, very important in the development of a free thinking tradition I hope to instill in my family.
The workshop stimulated so much thinking on my part, I was sad when I realized these stirrings would go ungratified. I wanted to talk more about it but there was a lot of ground to cover and limitations in time. I became aware of the struggle I feel at times as a parent. It's not a terribly dramatic struggle, its rather, the quiet questions and moments of uncertainty that come along with the territory of raising children. These moments we touched upon in the seminar, were the big moments, the big questions, the important ones that you want to get right because you know how it important it is in the development of our little sentient beings. "Mommy do we believe in God?" "Mommy, what happened to Great Grandma? Will she come back?" "Mommy, Esther says you will go to hell because you have a tattoo!"
I really understood from this seminar that the orientation to humanism and free thinking has got to be treated like a work in progress. McGowen gives great resources to help with this endeavor. I'm planning on getting a fascinating book he recommended about creation stories from many of the major religions and great civilizations to begin the dialogue with my children about religion and the recognition I hope to instill that there is not one way to think.
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