Phone booth, glasses, last of his kind... OMG! The Doctor is Superman!

It truly is amazing how a silly T.V. show can get you to thinking about life.

I am currently in mourning. I’m mourning the loss of a fictional character. What makes this behavior on my part even worse, is that said fictional character has the ability to ‘regenerate’, causing him to live, albeit in varying forms, possibly forever.

Yesterday, I lost the Doctor.

It wasn’t a surprise. I knew it was the end. The rest of the world has already mourned and moved on. They’re enjoying Matt Smith, I’ve seen the tweets.

But the mourning process is very real and very ‘now’ for me. And just as with any other loss, I find myself thinking about things differently.

The great thing about David Tennant‘s entire run was his incredible enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is something the Doctor should have in spades. His enthusiasm for human life and the whole of creation is inspiring. No matter what obstacles, aliens, or seemingly unsolvable problem the Doctor faces, he does so with a smile and a lot of determination (and a wisecrack or two).

Recently I feel that I am in one of those cliffhanger moments in my life where I’m not totally sure where to go next. I wish I could just snap on my glasses and whip out a sonic screwdriver. But since I can’t, it’s great that I do have fantastic companions to help me along…

As you can see from the pictures I’ve chosen so far, the Doctor has had more companions than regenerations of himself.

I have several companions as well. My wife has got to be the closest person to a companion the Doctor would choose that I’ve ever met. Not only is she brilliantly smart and great in a tight spot, she serves as an excellent moral compass as well. She’s not just my moral compass, but a practicality one. Sometimes I get it in my head to go off and do something half cocked, and she brings me back to Earth, with an even better and more effective idea.

The Doctor's daughter, Jenny.

My other companions, of course, are my kids.

My kids are my rocks. There is nothing better than coming home to see Tristin’s smiling face, or Calli asking ‘Daddy, can you play with me?’ They remind me why I do what I do each day. More importantly, they remind me why I want to do it.

I’m not sure what it was about the end of the tenth Doctor that got me to very nearly cry at a science fiction show. (Real men don’t cry at things like that, but I did get a rather large lump in my throat.)

It could have been the writing, which expressed, I’m sure, the sentiment of the audience and the cast and crew as the Doctor said sadly, ‘I don’t want to go.’ It could have simply been David’s amazing acting.

But it was more than likely the thoughts of my own life that struck the deepest chord. It never ceases to amaze me how sci-fi and fantasy can have that effect on me. On the outside, these stories are about amazing aliens, strange new worlds, and epic galactic battles, but the good stories draw from your thoughts, memories, and sometimes nightmares.

The REAL dedication of this post goes to...

As I watched the Doctor regenerate, taking the TARDIS itself out with him, I thought about how life is a lot like that. As we evolve ourselves, it effects those around us. As we evolve and change ourselves, the people that are most dear to us seem to change as well. Sometimes people grow apart, some relationships become tighter than ever. The people in our lives shape who we are as well. Choose your friends wisely.

I have no idea how this next chapter in my life will wind up. It could be not all that different, or I could feel like I’ve been flung to the far reaches of space and time.

But unlike the Doctor, I have family all around me to guide me.

Who needs a TARDIS with a gift like that?

…(OK, I would still love my own TARDIS. )

What Would The Doctor Do?

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A lot of the time, it feels like having kids is just about the worst thing you can do if you are trying to be ‘sustainable’ or ‘green’ or whatever label a treehugger has to use to avoid ‘treehugger’! If they’re young enough, there’s the constant production of dirty diapers, the feeling that snacks need to be more ‘convenient’, so that even if you don’t buy prepackaged snacks, you’re putting them in snack size ziplocs. If your kid’s older, you’re still producing a lot of trash to the point that you find yourself saying, “Didn’t I take the trash out yesterday? Seriously, what could we possibly be throwing away on a daily basis?”

Here are some simple tips I’ve found as a family man that eases my conscience a little bit:

1. Recycle when/where you can. Be mindful when you take the family anywhere of where recycling bins can be found. Most place like zoos and parks encourage recycling. Participate! Especially at home, if you don’t know if recycling is available in your area, find out! If you’re dreading the sorting, trust me, if you set up bins in your home, it’s not that big of a deal to sort as you go.
2. Use reusable bags when you go shopping. I am one of the worst in having good intentions with this one. Many grocery stores now sell reusable grocery bags for anywhere from fifty cents to a dollar. Some even will give you a credit for bringing in your bags. If you’re like me and forget them all the time, try to stash some in your car. At the very least, always choose paper!
3. It’s never too early to teach your kids not to litter! Sesame Street has some wonderful DVDs out there to teach your kids about the environment. School House Rock just released one too! These coupled with your sage parental guidance should instill in the younglings’ minds a love of the earth and a desire to not junk it up.
4. This weekend, participate in your local Earth Day events. When I was a kid, I remember going to an Earth Day event with my father and brother that had a lot of demonstrations to show how much waste we produce. One I believe was a giant globe layed out on the ground made of crushed aluminum cans. Obviously, the details are pretty fuzzy in adulthood, but the important thing is that I still have those feelings about the planet. Wouldn’t it be great to pass that on to our children?
5. Be the example, and not just today! Earth Day is like Christmas, make it last all year! Kids learn our habits and immulate them. Don’t make it seem that Earth Day and environmentalism is just a fad or something you do every once in a while. Show the kids you care and they will too.

This list is very basic on purpose because I now live in an apartment and understand that everyone can’t do things like composting, etc. in certain situations. These are simple things that I have found to work in my life that are easy to do without huge lifestyle impact.

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