The Way Things Change

Every once in a while, something happens with Dixon that crystallizes for me exactly how much the world has changed in the 30 years since I was his age. Like what happened last night.

Dixon had just eaten dinner (Trader Joe's chicken fingers, as per usual) and his daily ration of garlic hummus. We were doing "hard work", which means we were sitting at the island in the kitchen and I was on my laptop actually working while Dixon drew "triangles" (read: scribbles) on a piece of notebook paper. We'd also just finished a little struggle over the iPod, with Dixon pushing random buttons until I finally gave in and played his favorite song ("C'mon Ride the Train," obvs. And did you know that song is, like, 8 minutes long? It feels even longer.)

So that's the scene: sitting at the island, "working" and listening to music. Then, out of the blue, Dixon looked at me and said "Mommy, mango sorbet? Pleeeeeeease?"

You know, a lot of the time, it seems like Dixon's interests are no different than those of boys during any 20th century generation. Trains, trucks, digging. I'm pretty sure those are the things he dreams about.

But the little details of his days, that's where the difference lies, and so much of it has to do with food (and technology, of course). He'd eat guac and hummus for every meal if I let him. "Mango sorbet?" He's not even 2. I'm quite sure I'd never heard of mangoes or sorbet until I was much, much, much older than that.

I wonder, did my parents have similar revelations when I was Dixon's age? Or has the world changed more dramatically in the past 30 years than it did during the 30 before?