This week our family celebrated the younger niece’s sixth birthday. An age of change for her as it marks the transition from kindergarten to primary school.

Most people are telling her that this will also mark the beginning of „the serious part of life“ („der Ernst des Lebens, a german saying). A saying that makes me cringe. It is often forgotten how much power words have in out minds, and i know my Nieces are resilient and brave. And while schools seem to have become baking forms, producing unified human beings ready for the maws of society, they still are a primary source of education.
Which is a serious matter, but we should try and nourish the kids with it, present it as a feast that they should try to improve once they host the banquet, and not optimize it so we can force feed it to the St. Martin’s Geese of tomorrow.

I weep for the freedom my Niece has lost. But i smile at the thought of her keeping me on my toes like the okder Niece did with asking questions about this and that she heard at school.