Do you ever look into the eyes of a youth or even child and wonder at the blank stare you find there? Do you cringe when you hear a mother, who is little more than a child herself, scream at her toddler for simply exploring the big world around them? Does anger rise in you when you hear an older person at a bus stop generalise about all of the younger generation as worthless thugs (or worse)? Does your heart skip a beat and your mind fill with fear at what the future will hold for this young sleeping angel next to you, this child whom you brought into the world, for whom you are responsible?

In complete honesty with three adult children, one almost adult and two younger ones; I too am still plagued by the same concerns shared as a deep bond with parents the world over. Even with one in university and two excelling in work, I still have more questions than answers. Even though none of my children have dropped out of school, become addicted to drugs or fallen prey to the seemingly ever rising teen pregnancy rates, I still sometimes wonder how we have made it through...and will the others.

I have relentlessly spent my own youth and the past quarter of a century trying to make the world a better place for my children than it was for me. But like so many other parents, I fear that is all slipping away...that for the first time in modern history we may leave a bankrupt (financially, morally and environmentally) world as our legacy. I have served on Parent Teacher Associations. I have worked at church food banks. I have served on fundraising committees and community boards. I have opened my home for charity functions. I have tried to organise my communities. But it seems increasingly that fewer parents are taking advantage of these opportunities.

I clearly remember the moment that I lost hope. It was September 11th, 2001. I was seven months pregnant with my fifth child. As I watched the Towers fall, it was as if my hopes feel with them. For the days to come as we all watched the replays of those moments, I remember wondering...what kind of world am I bringing this helpless baby into. I think many parents around the world shared those fears with me.

I remember too the moment that I caught a glimmer of hope once again. It was November 4th, 2008...as I watched the first African-American President-Elect walk onto a stage in Chicago to accept perhaps the biggest job in history...to re-build not only my hope, but the hope of billions of other parents around the world.

Do I think that the world will be a better place simply because one man was elected to the Presidency of the United States...and not another equally noble man although very different doctrine? No, I still have fears. But those fears are not for this man...this new President. My fears are not that he will fail to keep his promise or fulfill his potential. My fear is that this promise of change will be aborted. My fear is that we will fail him. My fear is that we will lose another opportunity to bring about lasting change. My fear is that we...that I...will fail our children.

But there is a big difference between the fears I felt on September 11th and those I feel today. Then, my fears were of...them...a world out of control. Today, my fears are internal...of failure...not taking control when I have the chance...of missing opportunities. Although it may seem that fear is the same not matter its source, there are huge differences between the two. I...we...have a chance to bring about lasting change...for our children.

But before we can offer that hope of change to our children, we must face squarely those fears within us all...our demons. We must name them. We must find the will...if not for ourselves then for our children...not to conquer our fears but to go on in spite of them. It will not be easy.

It never was...not for our parents how stood against an unjust war and battled our nations centuries old demons of prejudice. Or our grandparents who struggled to rebuild a world torn apart by tyranny. Or our great grandparents who endured over a decade of economic uncertainty. Or the generations before that fought to end bondage of one man to another based solely upon the colour of his skin. Or purged a new nation out of untamed wilderness. Or challenged a distant monarch's right to rule a land he had never seen. Or left all they knew to seek freedom to worship their god as they saw fit.

But we must also face our own weaknesses. We must admit to ourselves the injustices we have wrought on others both at home and around the world. We must name the greed within us all for what it is...selfishness. Before we can move forward to face these opportunities to bring about the change we can all believe in, we must face the simple truth...there is both good and evil in all of us. We must offer our children a glimpse not only into the future but into the past...our past. We must admit to them our own failures...and mistakes.

Before we can offer this hope to our children, we must find the renewed energy within ourselves to face tomorrow. A tomorrow that is as uncertain as the yesterdays. A tomorrow that may bring a foreclosure...or a layoff...or a college fund that shrinks with the stock market. A tomorrow where the same evil that brought down our hopes before still has not been brought to justice. A tomorrow with rapidly depleting natural resources. A tomorrow on the verge of environmental self-destruction.

Are you...like me...weary? Does it all seem too big? Too much for one generation...one person? Then spend a few moments now looking at that little face...whether your child is a newborn...or a teen about the face these realities for themselves. Do we have any choice but to find the renewed energy to bring about lasting change...for their sakes?