Last night I was sent a blog address for brothers Will and Dan Drinker from Pennsylvania, and it’s really stirred some things up. Dan is 22 or 23, and he’s got stuff to say about the US presidential race.
This is, God willing, a little peep into the future for someone like Jacob. Dan seems to be a thoroughly well balanced type, with his own views and his own perfectly sound criteria for judging things and people. His brother Will is an amazing influence in the background.
Part of me rejoices at Dan’s togetherness, purely for his sake. Another part hopes that my own youngest son can share this level of development. And some of me is saddened to see the differences of being a ‘Downsey’ realised. I know that it brings positive differences as well, but there is no doubt that it brings struggle. If you go to the youtube site where the video clip is posted you’ll be able to see dozens of responses to Dan’s Obama endorsement. The vast majority are positive. But there are some bone-headed idiots in there too, and that’s something I can easily overlook with our six month old baby. I won’t always be able to ignore it though, as discrimination will absolutely feature on Jacob’s journey. So right now I’m pondering that imponderable.
You could drive yourself mad trying to protect against every eventuality, but ultimately you won’t be able to do it. Life’s a terminal condition anyway. It’s supposed to get used up, not stored away, so we might as well get on with it. There’s a whole lot of good stuff to be doing, as Dan and Will show on their video diaries, which are really worth watching if you happen to find yourself in the human race.
A big thank you to Naomi for the link. Dan’s the man.
Our Jacob 