First stop kinder, next stop the world

It was somewhere between receiving our kinder enrolment package for next year and realising that this month will mark Eden’s fourth Christmas that I started thinking about my own career aspirations as a child.

It dawned on me that I was not that much older than she is now when I settled on sports journalism as my preferred path.

I’m told I went through the usual phases of wanting to be a professional sportsperson, firefighter, police officer and champion data statistician that all children go through before they hit school age.

But by Prep it was sports journo or bust.

I look at Eden though and I marvel at the idea that she may be not far away from deciding what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

She can rarely make a concrete decision on what to eat for breakfast, although I suspect that is part of a wider plan to have more than one food group for her morning meal because the toast is always three-quarters eaten before cereal simply must be on the menu.

It is hard to judge what I think her potential career could be.

She loves the outdoors, cooking (and eating) and plenty of rough and tumble.

But she has such a kind heart and is much more empathetic than I thought a three-year-old would be.

At this early stage my guess is something to do with animal care, maybe a vet.

No matter what it is though, I suspect she’ll launch herself into it with all of the vigour she displays at the breakfast table every morning.

As for six-month-old Bonnie, at least I have a few more years before I have to worry about her life aspirations.

At this stage she is quite content with eat, sleep, smile, repeat as her daily mantra.

Tyler Maher is the editor of the Shepparton News.