Kids love trains, at least I heard of several kids that do and I haven’t been any different when I was young. My grand cousin is no different either. I noticed this during our bicycle tours when we cycled over bridges with railways underneath as she pointed with the fingers at the coming trains and I stopped so that she can watch. Since then, we regularly take the bike to do that. Just recently, a neighbor mother inspired me with the idea to check the train station as she is doing it with her son. So, we went to the train station and my cousin was confused at first but then she was amazed and didn’t want to leave. We’ve watched trains for over an hour. Seeing the sparkling eyes of a happy kid makes you happy too.
Diary of Dennis 
That’s so sweet of you, Dennis! 🚊
Thank you! She’s basically my foster sister, I just want that she experiences things 🙂 I feel like when you give something, you get something back, like these smiles and sparkling eyes as said, and that makes you happy too then. And family is very important to me.
What amazes me is that some train drivers, when they see me with the kid on a bridge, do want to add to the experience too…. by using light signals and some even do use the horn. That’s a really cool thing to do… others are boring, but many of them do that for the kid… it’s totally cool.
It’s so nice of the drivers to toot the horn! Oh to be a child again…
Yes, I have the same thought sometimes… memories of childhood coming up. Want to be child again too 😀
I think it’s lovely that you took her to see the trains at the station. I was like that at her age, looking for trains when we went out. It will be something she remembers doing with you as she gets older.
Thank you. That’s the idea, I want that she has good childhood memories. The side-effect is that I rediscover memories of my own childhood because as you said, we’ve done these things too when we were young. Many of my grayed out memories become colored again now too.
We’re doing a lot of things together at the moment. Activities are somewhat limited as she is still little, but that will change. I would have a lot of ideas.
You’ll probably be a great dad someday, should you decide to become a parent. You have good insights on taking care of a child. And yes, that’s probably a great bonding activity with your cousin! You awaken the inner child in you with all the memories. 😊
I’d like to be dad but I am almost 40 and I think it’s getting more and more unlikely with each year 😀 I have never found the right woman (but it’s not just about them, I’ve also been relationship-phobic and enjoyed an uncommitted life for way too long).
On the other side, you never know… it just takes the right person to change your entire perspective. Especially now that I take care of my cousin regularly, I am sometimes randomly approached by curious women. Had this happen several times, for example on the playground and at other places. I know that I take care well of kids, and I would assume on sight this is attractive to single mothers or just single women. So, yeah, you never know what happens next.
Fortunately, younger women guess my age as 27 and can’t believe it when I say I am almost 40 (I guess this is good), but hey, yes it’s true, I am getting old. 😀 And women at my age have a ticking biological clock. So, either way, I’d probably have to rush it and get kids asap with the next partner (laugh).
> You awaken the inner child in you with all the memories
Yes, that is really true. It’s like time traveling.
Commitment is the tricky part in a relationship. I think it is the most important component of a relationship, per triangular theory of love by Robert J. Sternberg. The other two components, intimacy and passion, may fade as time goes by, but the decision to choose somebody daily even if not on the best days is an indicator of strong commitment to a relationship.
I broke my heart with someone who pushed me away a decade ago. We both felt for each other, but his commitment wasn’t just there – he was too scared to commit to us. Despite the heartbreak, I carried on with my life as I helped my sister in financing her college schooling, and eventually living my independent life. I would like to think that I am happy being uncommitted (I like your term, “relationship-phobic” – I think it is applicable to me too for now, hahaha), but sometimes, I also wonder how it is to be loved and accepted wholly by a partner, as I go to them talking and just pouring my heart out every day after a long day at work.
I agree that it just takes the right person to change your entire perspective. I know somebody who married the love of her life at 58 years old! Haha. I probably just need to open up myself more to the relationship market to look for a suitable partner, should I desire to settle down eventually. However, this pandemic is putting a restraint on a lot of social activities nowadays, so I would most likely be needing more effort to reach out if ever. I am 31 years old at the moment, but not a lot of social activities nowadays. I consider my online activities now as my most social lately. :))
So, you really look younger than your actual age! That is a huge compliment. I also read someplace that a man who takes care of a child well is a plus score on his attractiveness to potential partners. You’re a really talented and appealing man, then! 🙂
Random thought: since we’re both uncommitted for so long, what if you and I co-parent a child instead? Hahaha, just kidding. You’re probably not into someone like me. :)))
Similar here. Tried it again and again but after several heartbreaks, I just featured it’s easier to carry on with life without putting a lot of energy into relationships. It became even easier when smartphones and those meetup apps became a thing, because it was possible to find heartbroken women with the same wish, uncommitted meetings.
It seems like this is the plague of our time because this is how not just a few live there life. It’s even visible in my own circle of friends. I think it’s a side-effect of our fast moving world. People don’t want to commit, they’re unpatient and break up because of minor things, and eventually your heart gets broken along the way. Next, you’re the one who becomes unpatient too, the one who doesn’t want to put lots of efforts into relationships anymore either. It’s contagious. It’s some kind of a fear, the fear to get the heart broken again, thus people take the easy route, including myself.
I’ve actually know of people too that met each other way after turning 50. You’re also right about the pandemic, this affects people in many ways, including living less healthy (swimming pools closed, previously I swam several kilometers 3 times a week), or like you said impossible social activities to meet people.
Correct, I am straight but I respect everyone else.
Despite not finding the right one for yourself at the moment, I hope you’ll find happiness in other aspects of your life, Dennis. Well, for sure, you’re enjoying single-blessedness, anyway. 🙂
Yes, the faster the world goes, the more “disposable” a lot of things go in life, relationships included. When I probably find someone to spend my life with someday, I’ll try to do my best to be as patient as possible. That is one thing I need to improve on, my patience and consistency on a lot of things. Hahaha.
Stay safe and healthy, Dennis. And thank you for the respect. The world needs more people like you who understand diversity and acceptance. 🙂
I definitely did. I am happy. I hope you are too. There are a lot of things that make one happy and my personal philosophy is that neither love or materialist things are a condition for happyness. Sometimes it’s just my existence that makes me happy (even if it sounds cheesy, but I had this thought many times, for example when I sat on a park bench in a forest and a beautiful bird did land right next to me to sing a bird song… or simply when I enjoyed a sunny day or similar things that just make us happy). I had to re-learn this tho, because especially here in the western world we grew into a toxic materialist mindset (through society and media) that eventually led some of us to depression. I re-learned to be happy with myself, with the simple things and not to compare myself too much with others. Especially the least is a master recipe to happyness. I am happy about things like being somewhat healthy, having a family, friends, or a cool cat, or to have activities and things that keep me going… a lot of these things alone make one already happy. That’s the way how I see it today.
Stay safe and healthy too!