Saturday, April 12, 2008

The butcher; the prodigy

My kids were running around the grocery store and causing a bit of havoc. I continually ask them to keep quiet, stop running, etc, but I understand that they are kids. Finding the balance between allowing freedom and keeping them under control is an art - definitely not a science. Some would argue that I am too lax, but I am consciously allowing latitude. It's not like I am avoiding responsibility in controlling them.

So an older butcher - maybe around 55 years old - is talking to a customer about my kids and says "That's not how I was brought up. My mother would just give me a look and... " - couldn't hear the rest. His face was stern; unhappy.

So it got me thinking... if I ruled my children with an iron fist ... and cultivated a cruel, disapproving look, would they... could they... aspire to become a butcher at a small grocery store?

I know - not a fair shake. There could be ... must be ... many other factors that impacted his career destination. Ten or twenty years from now he'll probably be serving my kids at the very counter from which he cast his disapproving look and opinion. That's all good. At that point, they'll treat him with courtesy and respect, and he won't even realize ... these are the same kids whose upbringing he questioned.

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