731：I was a confirmed cynic, then I had kids

I was a confirmed cynic, then I had kids By Angela Robertson When I was in college one of my classmates called me a cynic. I was immediately offended, but when I went home and reflected on his remark, I realized he was right. I was spending most of my 20s camouflaging the cynicism by calling myself cheeky or sarcastic. I told people I was just doling out the truth as I saw it. This truth, of course, was always of the overly skeptical, glass half-empty type. If I was walking down the sidewalk on a beautiful day and someone pointed out a rainbow, I probably wouldn’t have bothered to look up. I most likely would have responded with “cool,” in the most pitch-perfect insincerity. I was spending a lot of time fuming over the minutiae of my day. In my head, I obsessed over the details of a car cutting me off in traffic or the cashier at the grocery store who most definitely rolled her eyes at me. I stewed on these interactions, serving them up in conversation to family and friends, as if I were acting out an episode of Seinfeld. Except I wasn’t funny – I was sour. Then I had kids. And like most new parents, everyone from neighbours to complete strangers, showered me with parenting advice and clichés. They patted me on the back and said things like “being a parent is the hardest job you’ll ever have,” and “the days will be long, but the years short.” In time, I found all of their proclamations to be true. But something else was also happening. Feelings were bubbling up from under that thick layer of cynicism I had built up over the years. … https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-i-was-a-confirmed-cynic-then-i-had-kids/