Be As A Little Child

Yesterday was a spring cleaning day. Only here in Phoenix that means something a bit different. There wasn't messes left from months of snow to clean up, no no, there was dead weeds to clear out and rocks to rake. And, most importantly, there is the pool to get ready! It's pool time! And I had put off preparing the pool for swimming. Yesterday, I got it ready. And at the end of the day, it was really nice to sit there, with the feet in the water and admire it's beauty.

No, it was too late by the time all was ready to actually go swimming. But that didn't stop my 8 yr old, Deborah from asking if they could go. Well, she intended to ask me anyway. I was sitting on the diving board admiring my hard work, daddy was sitting beside me and 2 yr old Brandon was beside daddy, his own little feet dangling in the water. Deborah came up to me to ask, and before she could get the words out of her mouth, I pushed her in. Yes, that's right, I pushed her into the water, fully clothed. And it was funny. Now, see, I couldn't have done that with 12 yr old, Heather, no no...that would have been very bad. But Deborah is a good sport about such things and after a stressed moment of losing her shoe, she laughed and laughed. I told her we weren't going swimming but that she should go inside and shower.

My wise husband said at this point I should be expecting the other two older children shortly. I said nooo...but he was right. First, Dale, 10 yr old, wander slowly out by the pool. I had stood and was preparing to go inside, but had to push him in first. Laughing, he returned inside. And just as I had convinced Brandon to come inside with me, Heather came tentatively tip toe-ing out by the pool. I said 'ok, I'll push you in'. She said, 'can I jump?' I said, 'no what's the fun in that.' Still she didn't let me get much leverage and dove prettily into the pool. She still made a significant splash tho upon coming up from the water.

So, picture this if you will, Heather splashing around in the pool, fully clothed. Brandon, suddenly has become very concerned. "OH NO!" He keeps shouting. Daddy and I just laugh and laugh as Heather takes her splashing good time to leave the pool. Reassuring Brandon has no effect and he runs over, grabs the aluminum pole with the strainer attachment and holds it out to Heather, to rescue her. My heart leapt into my throat. Wow! How did he know to do that?? Was he the only child paying attention last summer on saftey day at swim lessons? Naw, he was only one at the time, that couldn't be it. He instinctively knew how to save his much larger, flailing sister. Heather grabbed the end and sweetly played along as she took the steps out of the pool. She gave Brandon a hug and thanked him. He was overjoyed to see her saftely back on the pool deck and we all went inside.

Daily, I see Brandon and Robert, 3 yr old, interact in similar ways. They are deeply concerned for each other's well being and happiness. They will give hugs to comfort, kisses to heal and ask 'Happy?' to be sure all is right in their little worlds again. They are such shining little examples of how we should all care and love each other. Wouldn't it be something sweet and special if the leaders of the world could hug, give healing kisses, and ask each other if all is happy. We should all be more like little children. (Except for the fit throwing and screaming NO!)

On another happy note, my new vanity liscense plate arrived this week. Can you guess what it says??

Happy Guessing!

To Choose or Not to Choose, That is the Question

My husband and I had a talk with our daughter tonight about choices. We explained, yet again, to her how her choices will effect not only the others around her, but her opportunities or consequences in the future. This is such a tough thing for kids to learn and grasp. Their lives revolve so much in the present. I wonder if making such a case for choosing carefully really has much effect on her. I'd rather she get it now that have the ample opportunities for the 'I Told You So's' in the future.

I watched gymnastics last night. It was a competition that determines the national women's team for the upcoming world championships. I always marvel at the choices that those girls make in order to be where they are at. They sacrifice so much. Not just time and friendships in order to train, but also they sacrifice their bodies to the sport. Some have such strong little bodies there isn't much to them except the muscles. They were 14-20 years old, but I saw only one that looked as if any form of womanhood had reached her. They put off through the extreme physical training the maturation of their bodies. The end result can be breathtaking though. They tumble, jump, spin and toss themselves around in the most amazing ways. Each girl makes very specific choices to lead her to that level of eliteness in her sport.

I think about my house. We have made so many quick choices as to the renovations and changes we want to make. It has been mind numbing how quick it has all flown by. I have had to do a lot of trusting in my instinctual choices when it comes to colors and styles. Thus far, I have not been disappointed. Still, there is a lot of trust that comes when forgoing normal research times. I am grateful my husband has been trusting of my opinions. But then I look at some of the houses in my neighborhood and wonder just how long some of the other homeowners spent deciding on house color. There are some shocking examples of poor choice making in my opinion. Granted, my tastes are not like everyone else's but there are just some shades of teal that do not belong on a house. The choices I make about how the exterior of my house looks, will have an effect on those living around me.

Choices and consequences. It is impossible to be careful enough to make sure nothing bad happens, but certainly we can try to be good, considerate people. How does this stack up when it comes to choices that may not be the best for us, but yet we really want something. It reminds me of going to a buffet style restaurant this weekend. I know my choices there were really not all in my best interest. Which is typically why I usually avoid such places. Still, it was a very pleasant meal with my family. The kids were so well behaved, I got compliments from the strangers around us. I was able, in front of my kids, to brag a bit about them. This is always good for the self confidence. Do the good and the not so goods in this case balance out? Or should I still regret my poor decision making when it came to eating?

It is tough to teach proper decision making when I struggle with it myself. I hope my daughter understood what we were trying to explain to her tonight, but somehow I doubt it will create much change in her. It is more likely that we will need to provide instant negative consequences to some of her choices to help her understand that they really were poor choices. Parenting is tough.