When was the last time you climbed a tree, or laid on the grass at night and watched the stars? Have you ever raced your husband to the car yelling, "Shotgun"? Don't you want to hand the bills back to the mailman and tell him, "No take backsies"?
Here are important lessons I learned from carefully observing children
If you have an itch scratch it. If there is something in your nose, pick it
When kids have trouble, they just take care of it without worrying about what they look like or what anyone thinks. If they have an itch, they scratch it. If they have a booger, they pick it. They might be on stage in a tutu or singing in church, but nothing will stop them from taking care of their needs.
As adults, we sometimes forget to stop and take care of ourselves. We will push our way through our days only to realize we haven't eaten, exercised or even stopped to breathe. Remember, if you have an itch scratch it. Take care of your needs.
You can fly
Children will jump off buildings, trees and any object more than 4 feet off the ground. They are sure they can fly, because no one has told them they can't. Eventually they fall and realize there is gravity. Sometimes, we worry so much about falling and gravity, we stop trying to fly. See the world through childlike eyes and reach new heights.
Orville Wright, inventor of the airplane said, "If birds can glide for long periods of time, then ... why can't I?" We can do anything we set our mind to. Believe in yourself.
You can be an astronaut or a fireman
Children dream of being cowboys and ballerinas when they grow up. Don't forget to dream. As adults, we sometimes get focused on the barriers to our dreams, like the cost of school or how we look in a tutu. Great dreamers and inventors, like Leonardo Da Vinci, didn't look at what they couldn't do, they dreamed big.
Leonardo Da Vinci said, "It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." Children believe they can be or do anything they want to. Never give up on your dreams.
Yelling shotgun gets you the best seat in the car
Act like a child and ask for what you want. As adults we sometimes wait for our husbands to read our minds and then are upset when they forget to open car doors for us or wait outside honking the horn. If we want our spouses to be gentlemen and open car doors, or wait patiently for us, we should ask.
Sometimes it is better to go boneless
Have you ever tried to drag an uncooperative child through a store, when he suddenly goes boneless? He is completely limp, like he hasn't got a bone in his body. He is boneless, like fast food chicken.
As adults when we don't get our way, we sometimes feel like kicking and screaming, when boneless would work better. Sometimes going boneless or doing nothing is exactly what's called for. Just lay low and ride it out - or keep going in your own direction while others storm around you.
Playground politics
No one likes the mean girls. Bullies get your lunch, but not your friendship, and the best fun is had playing wall ball or climbing the monkey bars. Wear shorts under your skirt, so you can climb higher than everyone else. A callous means you're really good at tricks on the monkey bars and you practice a lot.
Now I have mom callouses, special pants for painting walls, broken nails from pulling weeds and I am having more fun in the dirt. The mean girls are still off shopping and making fun of my farmer tan. It is alright. My gang and me meet at the gym, hike with the kids and know how to play and play hard.
The fort is everything
Kids spend hours building forts, forts made of sheets, blankets, boxes and backyard junk. We spent days filling our forts with collected debris that became treasure. When you played tag, if you made it to the fort you were home free. If you were in the fort, you couldn't be killed in a game of army. The fort was safe, snug and secure.
As an adult, I still spend time building, decorating and designing my fort. When you come home to my fort, you are safe, snug and secure. If the whole world is after you, once you walk through the front door, nothing can touch you. You are home free.
Today be honest like a child. Eat when you're hungry and sleep when you're tired like a child. See the world as a magical place. Have hope like a child. Play and play hard today. Walk with childlike faith in yourself and God. Jinx 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 .....
