Do you remember where you were when you made a decision that quietly changed the direction of your life?
Mine happened this week.
In a darkened cinema.
I was watching Neighbourhood Backyards, a documentary about what happens when adults step back and let children choose how they want to play.
At one point a school principal said something that grabbed me.
“For years, I was looking at play all wrong.”
Then he added,
“The biggest risk we could ever take is not allowing kids to engage in this type of play.”
Something went off inside my head.
Not because it was a new idea.
Because it wasn’t.
I’ve been drifting towards this for months.
Maybe years.
I just haven’t admitted it to myself.
When I started writing Modern Grandad, I thought I was writing about grandfathers.
Lately I’ve realised I’m writing about childhood.
...the kind of childhood that helps children discover who they are without adults constantly directing the outcome.
I don’t know exactly where this will lead.
But I do know this.
Some ideas stop being interesting.
And quietly become your work.
—
Learn more about Neighbourhood Backyards