So for those of you who have been following the blog, you'll recall that my partner and I moved here to follow a crazy dream of living by the ocean, the mountains, and among this city's rather snazzy glass and steel and cedar structures. Somewhat grandiose, perhaps, but nonetheless a very good motivator for two folks looking to expand their horizons in all senses of the expression.
As we're settling in, I have begun to envision all sorts of possibilities for us and our little one, in part through my imagination but in equal part by keeping an eye out for how other parents seem to be doing things. Today I took a bus ride downtown, and saw many parents with tots, including a bright-eyed little guy on the bus who was asking his mom about pretty much everything under the sun. Out the window I saw a lot of young moms and a few dads (woot!) toting their toddlers in various ways.
One thing that's hard to miss about Vancouver (and that was hard to miss today) is that a lot of people here are really, really well off. If you've ever seen the city's astronomical real estate prices, you'll know what I'm talking about. I suppose my moment of panic hit me when I started to think about if we'd be ale to provide a decent life for our baby. We're trying hard, but it can be a little frightening. Like the huge majority of parents, I want to provide the absolute best in everything for my kid. I know that there'll be no shortage of love in his life, and I know that we'll do everything possible to make sure he knows that the world is an abundant, beautiful place, but I don't want him to feel limited in any way, not financially or anything else.
I did have one realization as I pondered this. One of the best things my wife's taught me is to celebrate others' success. She never begrudges other people their victories, and in fact goes out of her way to acknowledge them, and I was reminded of this today as I rode along. I need to remember to keep gracious when it comes to seeing the very fortunate citizens of Vancouver. It's great. The city's a prosperous, lively, place, rife with opportunity, and I would never want to see others taken down just so I could feel better. That would just be too petty for words. Whether I ever count myself among the wealthy or not, acknowledging the beauty and contribution of other people's success allows me not to be a cranky, envious person, which is far more valuable. I already feel so fortunate, and a moment of vulnerability like the one I had today, in my opinion, never hurts as a reminder of how sweet and grand life already is.
As we're settling in, I have begun to envision all sorts of possibilities for us and our little one, in part through my imagination but in equal part by keeping an eye out for how other parents seem to be doing things. Today I took a bus ride downtown, and saw many parents with tots, including a bright-eyed little guy on the bus who was asking his mom about pretty much everything under the sun. Out the window I saw a lot of young moms and a few dads (woot!) toting their toddlers in various ways.
One thing that's hard to miss about Vancouver (and that was hard to miss today) is that a lot of people here are really, really well off. If you've ever seen the city's astronomical real estate prices, you'll know what I'm talking about. I suppose my moment of panic hit me when I started to think about if we'd be ale to provide a decent life for our baby. We're trying hard, but it can be a little frightening. Like the huge majority of parents, I want to provide the absolute best in everything for my kid. I know that there'll be no shortage of love in his life, and I know that we'll do everything possible to make sure he knows that the world is an abundant, beautiful place, but I don't want him to feel limited in any way, not financially or anything else.
I did have one realization as I pondered this. One of the best things my wife's taught me is to celebrate others' success. She never begrudges other people their victories, and in fact goes out of her way to acknowledge them, and I was reminded of this today as I rode along. I need to remember to keep gracious when it comes to seeing the very fortunate citizens of Vancouver. It's great. The city's a prosperous, lively, place, rife with opportunity, and I would never want to see others taken down just so I could feel better. That would just be too petty for words. Whether I ever count myself among the wealthy or not, acknowledging the beauty and contribution of other people's success allows me not to be a cranky, envious person, which is far more valuable. I already feel so fortunate, and a moment of vulnerability like the one I had today, in my opinion, never hurts as a reminder of how sweet and grand life already is.
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