I like Brian's philosophy more and more all the time, that there are stages in a person's life that can actually be measured mathematically. His blog post is here: http://gravityandlevity.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/parenting-and-the-feeling-of-time-my-eight-lifetimes/
I will blog my notions of stages of child development later, but I propose that we re-invent ourselves from time to time. It seems obvious if you think of it.
As children our work is "to play". Then we are students devoted to study, then we marry and learn the role of husband or wife. It requires a lot of effort to acquire the skills to become a good parent. I propose that being the parent of a preschooler is NOT like being the parent of a teenager. Each of these stages involves more and more contact with the world.
I also propose that we reinvent ourselves as we grow older and that our world should get larger, not smaller as our family leaves home. I think we should talk to MORE people about MORE subjects and enjoy MORE things, not fewer.
"study and learn...become acquainted with languages and people..." Doc and Cov 90:15
This I propose to do, at home and away.
