This morning I had a surprising conversation with our oldest, Madelyn. As I was brushing her hair in the bathroom, she told me "it stinks in here." Now, it didn't "stink" at all. It actually smelled great because I had just bought a new air freshener; some harvesty, fallish, thanksgiving type smelling stuff. I explained to her that it smelled great in there; like Fall. She then tells me the part that surprises me: "I HATE Fall. It's cold, it rains, it's dark before dinner, the leaves all fall off the trees and I you can't swim in the Fall. I hate it." I was floored. Mostly because lately I have been enjoying Fall so much! I love that it's getting colder, love that it's dark earlier, love the pretty leaves on the ground and frankly, love that I don't have to sit out by the pool in the baking hot sun anymore! So how can my precious daughter who is like me in so many ways have such stark difference in opinion about my most beloved season? Perception. I can see why a kid could dislike Fall; it takes away summer fun. She's not looking past that. Rather than seeing what Fall takes from us, I see that it ushers in Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the holiday blends at Starbucks.
We all know that a child's perception of things is so much different than our own. I had another conversation with Madelyn yesterday evening about attitude. We had a difference in perception over why I had to raise my voice to get her attention. She explained to me her side of things and we both agreed to be more aware of how we perceive the situation (in 8 year old language of course).
My point today? Kid's have perceptions and opinions of things and most of the time, they aren't wrong. They are just seeing things through their very childlike eyes. I like to talk through opinions and perceptions with my girls and the kids at church because it helps me to see how they view their world. It's then that we can open up the door to Godly conversation that helps shape their worldview.
I hope one day Madelyn loves Fall as much as I do. One day she may see the beauty in the falling leaves or love the crispness in the air. But if she doesn't that's okay too.
What a great post and wonderful piece of advice. I know I have thougth about Mary as being so small, a 3 year old girl, but she is a little person and I want to continue to be a good example to her and communicate the love of Christ to her so that she will know Him personally one day too!
ReplyDeleteWell, it's good that someone loves summer (because it's not me). To me, fall is like one huge party - lots of color, leaves laying around like confetti and some snap in the morning air. I get to emerge from my heat-induced misery :).
ReplyDeleteAlways good to be reminded of the other (and younger) points of view.