Friday, January 1, 2010

Aught we call it something else?

It gets to me a little bit when I hear the Aughts (2000-2009) referred to as the “decade from hell” or the “lost decade”. My wife and I were blessed with bringing five healthy children into the world over this time period. However, I can understand why many frame it in such stark terms. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 changed everything. At the time, my wife was expecting our second child and our oldest wasn’t even one and a half yet. I remember thinking, “How can I bring children into this crazy world?!”

Then again, I imagine many parents, from many decades gone by, had a similar concern. Terrible events have happened over the course of history. George Will recently wrote “the fact that the flora and fauna have survived Earth’s episodes of extreme violence testifies to the extreme imperative of life.” He was talking about the Earth’s geological history and “catastrophism”, as he attempted once again to put the global warming issue into larger context. But the point is bigger than that. Life goes on.

Who knows what will shock and absorb us in the next ten year period? All we know for sure is that something will. In the mean time, my wife and I will be trying to prepare these five children of ours for a world very different from the one in which we grew up. Heck, it will be very different from what it is today. Our oldest daughter may laugh at just how basic the 8GB iPod Touch she just received for Christmas was, compared to whatever device she has in December 2019.

We are sure to have challenges in the coming years. But, if our family is a fraction as fortunate in the next decade as we were in the Aughts, then the decade to be known as the Teens will have been a wonderful ten year span. Thanks to the big guy upstairs for all of our blessings and for giving us the ability to handle whatever curveballs come our way.

Usually the end of a year is a time to make a New Year’s Resolution, but in its place I am going to make a New Decade’s Resolution. I resolve to watch the “Louis CK on Conan O’Brien” video (embedded below) every few months over the next ten years. It’s always a good laugh and reminds you to appreciate some of the amazing things man can accomplish despite the craziness of the world going on around us. We “aught” not forget to pause every once in a while to take it all in.