People often talk about “childlike wonder,” but I’ve been thinking about “childlike boredom” quite a bit lately.
I first thought about it a few weeks ago when my family went out to lunch with some family friends in town from Indianapolis.
As the adults were talking about something relevant to our respective jobs, I caught a glimpse of my nephew, Cayson, who’s in kindergarten. Cayson was folded over the back of his chair — eyes glazed over, tongue hanging out of his mouth, and looking at a soccer game on TV.
As any good aunt would, I snuck a video of the dramatic display of boredom.
This week, I was covering the county commissioner meeting. The meetings are normally live-streamed by Dayle Mentzer for Wells County Voice but have been occasionally covered by a Charlie Andrews when she’s been out of town.
Charlie is just 15 years old, so I always chit-chat with him about his classes and explain what’s on the agenda for the night if he’s curious.
Now, I’ll admit, county meetings are not usually action-packed. Even so, I stifled a laugh when I noticed Charlie was repeatedly typing and deleting one key on his laptop to entertain himself. He later upgraded to figuring out the keyboard shortcuts for symbols and accented letters.
The commissioner meeting ended in just 24 minutes. “That one was quick and easy for ya,” I noted as I said goodbye.
“It still felt so long” Charlie said with an exasperated sigh.
I didn’t stifle the laugh that time. He’s a good sport and a funny kid.
In reality, several interesting things were covered in the meeting — the jail renovation is nearing its end, Ossian is looking to make a residential TIF district to encourage growth, and the commissioners are hiring for a new communications position.
As part of a greater context, those things are emblematic of how the county is moving, growing and trying new options to serve its residents.
So, while there’s certainly something to be said about childlike wonder, I’m also glad most people carry an adult’s capacity to care about the more routine things.
Local government isn’t glamorous. It’s not often face-paced. There are probably 10 different boards and committees that most people don’t know exist but work diligently to serve the county in their respective roles.
And while I hope these things are on most people’s minds during election season, that’s really only part of staying involved.
Ultimately, these day-to-day things are building blocks in our community. They’re what keep the roads salted in the wintertime, parks maintained for kids to grow and play, and trash pick-up on time. On a broader scale, they make decisions that affect taxes, set long-term goals for community development and act as liaisons between the county and state governments.
Perhaps routine at times, but not unimportant.
In reality, it’s not really that the conversations around Cayson and Charlie were uninteresting — they just went above their heads. At their age, it was easier to disengage.
And although we can be tempted to do the same, by intentionally approaching things with a perspective of curiosity and willingness to learn, there is greater fulfillment in becoming an active participant in the conversation.
holly@news-banner.com
