A Bubble Burst

Caroline Godin reflects on our differing perfections of the changes in the world as we grow from childhood through adulthood.

The world I grew up in is gone. My mother was able to stay home, participate in school events, and go out with friends. My dad worked a nine-to-five desk job which afforded us plenty of vacations, toys, sports, and other '80s family amenities. We wanted for nothing, were surrounded by friends and family of the same level of security, and enjoyed our happy bubble. We received no mixed messages. We had our family, our faith, and our neighbors, and that was that.

It was a bubble.

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The world has changed, or so it seems.

For one, I’ve grown up and now see the flip side of family life. I’m no longer provided for by parents; now I am the parent trying to do the providing. As an adult, I’m now aware of how many times my dad lost his job, which is not uncommon for a software engineer. I look back and realize my mother was helping at the school as a part-time job, later as a preschool teacher with mother’s hours. She got an office job when we were in high school—not out of boredom.

I see that the things that made us happy weren’t the most expensive sports, though my dance expenses cost a bit more than my brother’s soccer seasons. We camped quite a bit for our vacations and often got just one big Christmas present and lots of little fun things.

While I watched the breakdown of various families through my middle and high school years, I can look back and understand a bit more. They, too, were under stress and some didn’t withstand the pressure. Divorce, reckless teenagers, lack of college funds, or poor career choices—some of those things were unavoidable. Fewer families came out whole.

I pondered these things the older I got. I was the “church girl” in my group, the only practicing Catholic. My parents were very matter-of-fact with us about our faith. You get out what you put into it. I put in curiosity, made an effort at Mass, and prayed. I wondered about things as I learned more, but I never felt I doubted God’s presence. My brother, unfortunately, couldn’t reconcile the Church’s past and stopped believing. His world changed and he didn’t feel God fit.

The biggest change, perhaps, is that the world is now quite global. Information is so accessible that it's dangerous if we don’t teach our kids how to digest it and what not to consume. They learn much more and much sooner than we ever experienced. Perhaps that’s why parenting feels harder these days. We’re competing with so much more.

Click to tweet:
Information is so accessible that it's dangerous if we don’t teach our kids how to digest it and what not to consume. #CatholicMom

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The bubble has burst, and it is no longer a safe haven. We can’t wait to prepare them; we must do it from the start. So, some things changed, sure, but people were always prone to sin, emotion, struggle, temptation, all of that all along. With the world being global now, both the beauty and the ugly of people are laid out, and the messages are confusing.

Maybe the world I felt I grew up in is gone, but the world is still the world. People are people no matter where (or when) you go. There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Parents struggle to provide for their children. We make efforts to give them a happy childhood. We suffer financial strain, job loss, diagnoses, arguments, and more. We try to build up hope through faith formation, charity work, and community involvement. We do our best. Our parents did too.

When I look back on all the wonderful events of my childhood, I realize I was protected. My parents were my shield, my honest, brave, and valiant shield. They told us what we needed to know as we were old enough to know it. Now that’s my job. We do what we can for our kids, continue to build faith in them, and remain hopeful in Christ. We are their shield and their primary source of education. And the Lord is my shield (Psalm 28:7).

God bless.