Month: April 2013

I think that seeing the world with childlike wonder is the actual fountain of youth. It keeps us young. We’ve all seen people who seem younger than they really are. Every time, when I see one of these people, they have a special twinkle in their eyes. It’s that childlike wonder sparkling through.

Take a minute to see if any part of this rings true for you. If not, visualize a classic picture of Santa Claus. There it is.

At its depth, I think our role as parents is like that of a gardener who understands what is necessary for a flower to emerge. You can’t force a flower to grow before it is ready, nor can you make it into something it is not. All you can do is provide your best effort in seeing the right nutrients are present and removing those things that threaten it from fulfilling its potential.

More or less that means to stay out of the way.

As parents, we want our children to learn from our experiences so we provide them all kinds of advice. Some of us even get upset with them when they don’t take it.

Go figure.

Sometimes, though, we understand the importance of allowing our children the space and time to figure out things in their own ways. Deep down we know that while we may be more efficient at feeding a one year-old, for instance, we know it’s in her best interest to handle the spoon herself. We clean up the mess, knowing it’s all part of the development process.

Some things people just have to learn for themselves.