This will be the inaugural part in what I like to call “Lame FIRE analogy of the week 1” 🙂

Having kids definitely makes you think about a lot things as you watch them develop 2, well it does if you are at least a semi-deep thinker at least. I guess everyone other parent is just thinking either “ah how cute” or “how bloody irritating” at any given point (there isn’t much in between haha).

While doing some colouring with TFS Jr the other day, I found myself getting more on the irritated side as she decided that rather than at least attempt to stay inside of the lines, she wanted to scribble across the whole page with just one colour.

It looked horrendous! (See evidence above)

So naturally I started with the usual coaxing in the right direction:

“Why don’t you try to stay inside of the lines?”

After a few goes of this with no success I decided to let her just crack on with it, all of a sudden thinking that she hasn’t got too many more months ahead of her before “staying inside the lines” is all that seems to matter. From a very early age these sorts of things are drilled into us:

  • Stay inside the lines
  • No talking
  • No running in the corridor
  • No walking in the race!
  • Dress this particular way (School uniform / fashion)
  • Watch these TV shows and listen to this music if you want to be “cool”
  • Do your homework and revise
  • Get good grades in your exams
  • Go to University
  • Get a steady job
  • Buy a big house and car
  • Buy this stuff if you want to be deemed successful
  • Have 2.4 children 3
  • Work until you are 67/68
  • Retire and watch daytime TV till you die 🙂

Is it just me or is there a actually quite a natural progression from point #1 to the that final one there?

 

FIRE to me, is a bit like re-learning that age old instinct we all have from day one, to draw outside the lines again.

It’s learning what “rules” can be broken – and by that I mean fake rules that are really just cultural and societal beliefs that we take for granted, not actually breaking the law of course! – and pushing on the boundaries of things to see how far those lines can stretch, or even be ignored completely so we are free to roam, and do whatever we decide is best for us.

 

There, that’s pretty much all I have on that one – told you it was Lame! 🙂

What lines have you ignored recently either in your journey to FIRE or just in every day life?

 


 

I’ll leave you now with another TFS Jr Masterpiece – not really sure what she has against eyes or mouths, or maybe it’s just Cinderella in general 🙂

 

 

Notes:

  1. Don’t worry, it won’t really be a weekly post!
  2. Most “insights” could just as easily come to non-parents, by just thinking about childhood in general and how we decide as a nation/culture to bring children up. It’s just having one right in front of you brings these thoughts to the fore far more regularly and without too much mental effort
  3. Although if still running that TV show would now have to be called 1.88 Children 🙂