Choose Wisely

A young highland dancer gets ready to compete

Walking around the highland games over the weekend I couldn’t help but notice the vast amount of children participating in the various piping and dancing events. A common sight was a young, kilted kid blowing on a towering set of pipes while his or her father helped with the tuning of the instrument prior to the competition. I wondered how these kids became involved in such esoteric activities. Clearly the parents were pipers or dancers and passed those interests onto their children, who now play and compete right along side the older generations.

It makes me very aware of my day-to-day activities because little eyes are always watching. If I pipe or compete in triathlon my sons will likely do the same. If I sit around on the couch eating Ding Dongs and drinking Yahoo the same is also true. The choices that we make today will ripple across generations long, long after we’re gone. The responsibility is almost unfathomable.