There is a reason why “new car smell” holds a place of affection for some people: newness signifies perfection, that moment before something pure and clean and fresh becomes, well, something average. Before the cookie crumbs get between the seats, before the coffee spills in the cup holder, before life turns something ephemerally beautiful into the everyday. But there is a different perspective we could all take.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because, as my kids grow into young teenagers, the pressures of life slowly start creeping towards them, and the pressure of doing everything perfectly surrounds them. My daughter is involved in competitive sport, and for her, performance perfection is an innate quality, with winning and losing a fierce battle – and she’s only 14. And my son, a master builder at 16, expects every piece of LEGO to still have its place, and only the best engine will suit his newly built go-kart.
Perfection has its moments but imperfection is where life happens, and that’s something we could all embrace. I tell them both that it’s important to be aggressive in achieving their goals, but it’s also important that they derive great joy from their pursuits, which obviously serves as an amazing motivator.
In this issue we meet some amazing kids in our community, who do things well beyond their years, in our inaugural Kids To Watch feature. As well, you’ll meet a young lady, Sam Gillan-Kennedy, in our Can We Talk column, a student at SD63’s Individual Learning Centre. As a mother of two she is determined not only to raise her daughters, but also committed to making time for her education. She has learned from her rebellious years to overcome many obstacles, and has become an obvious role model for her peers.
Alongside our articles on kids, we also look to our community on how best to care for our fur babies, in Lara Gladych’s column, Word on the Street. We also find the inside scoop on sheep dog training in Paula Kully’s Behind The Scenes column. And if furry friends aren’t your thing, then Tina Kelly from the Centre for the Salish Sea talks about how to care for a cephalopod, aka giant Pacific Octopus, in this month’s Salish Sea News. Lastly, I must give a shout-out to photographer Sue Ferguson, as our cover is graced with her passion for horses, a pure picture of perfection.
