Post Apocalyptic Post

In an attempt to put a positive on the Mayan calendar apocalyptic "threat", now is as good a time as any to reflect back and re-evaluate what is important in life and what isn't.

My mind keeps wandering back to a lunch hour I had about 6 months ago. It was during school holidays and my walking partner wasn't around, so I decided to have lunch at a shopping centre local to work. I ate lunch on the end of a shared bench, on the other end were two thirty-something mothers catching up, One of them had a kid in a stroller, the other had a ~5 year old girl that increasingly looked bored. before too long, the 5 year old turned her attention to me and was urging me to help her play with her toy wind-up car. I couldn't resist and started playing. The mother didn't seem to mind (I think she was happy for me to babysit for a while as she caught up with her friend).

The toy wasn't particularly well made and kept shooting off in random directions. This was of great amusement to this kid. I overstayed my lunch hour and this kid was genuinely loving the attention I was giving her and was loving trying to catch the car before it veered off the table in every random direction possible. Eventually, my time had run out, but the kid kept asking for one more turn and it was hard saying no. The mother told me after a while that I didn't have to stay, regardless, It took great effort getting up and trekking back to the office and that simple day was one of the most enjoyable lunch hours I have had.

There are two points that are resonating in my head, firstly, I am very appreciative that the mother allowed me, a total stranger, to play with her kid. You get the feeling that in this day and age everyone assumes that every stranger has cruel intentions and whilst in this case, I was supervised at all times, the trust is still very much appreciated. Secondly, will I ever have children of my own? I have always expected to have my own family one day but for whatever reasons, I'm still single, living at home with no immediate plans of settling down. Now that I'm on the wrong side of mid-30's, the fear of going through life without children is gradually becoming reality and whilst I look for things to fill the void, nothing will be quite the same as having kids and helping them develop.