The best part of being a parent, besides having an excuse to eat ice cream three times a week, is watching the human evolution. From blob to baby, infant to independent, toddlers to teens, these little beings surprise you every day with something. Good, bad or mundane, change is constant and it’s hard to keep up. My dogs, on the other hand, have not changed at all over the course of several years. They eat, sleep, bark, poop, repeat. The plateau is almost comforting, though. Like your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant, you always know what to expect.
But those kids. Right when you think you’ve got it figured out…BAM! They’ve learned your tricks, figured out how to climb the cabinets, and can now FaceTime grandma. It’s like artificial technology—impressive and useful at first, but then very scary. I’m afraid they’ll outsmart me by middle school, further tipping the scales of our precarious power balance. My 4-year-old recently was disappointed in my reaction to a new toy. “That was a little mean,” she claimed. “It’s not what you said; it’s how you said it.” Wow.
Those clarified moments of self realization and introspection can absolutely floor you. Their little brains, not yet worn by the bumps, bruises and booze of life, can offer such simple and profound perspective. We see this in our daughter Saoirse almost constantly, the dichotomy of a poet laureate who often runs into walls.
Take a recent novella she brought home one day from school.
[In case you can’t read Kindergartenish, let me interpret.]
Love by Saoirse.
Love is the most powerful thing, like giving a hug. Never stand out.
Be kind. Do everything that you can do.
So give love and spread kindness.
To be clear, this was unsolicited work, a product of free time given to the class each early afternoon. She could have been eating boogers, licking glue sticks or tormenting bugs. (Yes, I speak from first-hand experience.) But no. She felt the need to create a personal manifesto, a call to a global audience for peace and love.
Wait, is this my kid?!
All jokes aside, I’m considering a DNA test. Because I am 100% not this awesome. She must get this (and all her other wonderful traits) from mom. Her ability to convey even the most complex ideas in such simple forms never ceases to amaze me. My daughter, the humanitarian.
These moments also give me immense hope for the future. It often seems as if the world is burning all around us, and we each are simply trying to survive. But maybe, just maybe, that conflagration is a bit exaggerated. My kids give me pause for all the negativity, seeing things for what they are. I find myself explaining heavy concepts to Saoirse, blindly thinking she needs to better understand the inner workings of the world, but I realize I need to unlearn the cynical and jaded views I’ve built throughout the years. I should just shut up and read more of her lessons.
Why can’t I be five again?
This one got me in the heart 💜 Thanks for sharing a ray of hope....and wow ...4 yrs old!