"...I wann bang on these drums all day."

As a parent, I have this pattern starting to develop in my behavior toward Rowan. You know those stories you hear from friends and the media where a parent tries too hard to make their child do things they wish they had done as kids, like play football or be a cheerleader or something? That's how I feel sometimes and I'm afraid of it. I think that if I could teach her something now, early, she could make use of it later in life and not have to spend time learning and relearning skills. A few good examples are hockey and drums. I really like watching hockey, I enjoyed what few times I played hockey, but I became a fan of the game late in life, I didn't skate on a frozen pond when I was 3 years old, so skating and the game weren't second nature. With Rowan I'm tempted to start her in something early and hope that she can carry that through her days.




But with what? Drums? Music in general? Gymnastics? Soccer? Art? It's easy to think that because she likes the sound of a drumstick against a tom drum that she'll be the next John Bonham? Just because she likes furiously scribbling on my sketch pad, should I call Stan Lee and have him open up a position drawing The Silver Surfer? I don't think it'd be a good idea to hold out hope on any of these things. But coming from an artistic family, and having Cheryl's family have such a musical history, I'm constantly looking for some hidding talent that I can nudge ever so slightly, even if it is errantly.


That's not to say she won't decide she likes to do something as she gets older. I'm also not even hazarding the impression that my parents weren't the same way, but I just floundered too much to make any extra curicular activity stick. I often wonder if my parents wanted me to be an artist or a singer or an astronaut or if they had more humble and noble wishes like making sure I was always on time to school and didn't get sick a lot. It's hard having lofty aspirations while keeping your feet planted firmly on the ground. It's also hard to have your feet on the ground while chasing after a 18 month old with your drum stick.

---