The innocence of children is an honesty that amazes me everyday. Sometimes it makes me laugh, sometime it makes me cry. Sometimes it makes me blush, and sometimes it makes me stop in my tracks. And sometimes the innocence of children reminds me of the simple beauty in the world and it reminds me that nothing is more important than love.
That's how I felt last Monday after a weekend of sobbing at the TV and then finally seeing the two children that I babysit. We walked to the park, just like every other Monday. But this time my observant five-year-old friend looked at the flag in his neighbor's yard and asked, "Ms. Renee, why is that flag more downer?"
Why? That's a question I've been asking myself for over a week now after hearing about the events that unfolded in Connecticut and the sweet, innocent lives that were taken. Why are flags only half way to the sky while Christmas lights twinkle behind them? Why are some mourning death while others are celebrating eternal life? Hearing his sincere question left me asking why again. I told him that sometimes people want to show extra support for their country, so they fly the flag at half mast. The answer satisfied him, but not me.
I beamed at those sweet ones the rest of the day. All they know is good in the world. To a two-year-old and a five-year-old, evil is Captain Hook. A bad guy is someone who litters, and guns shoot rubber darts. I want to protect them from what's really out there. I want them to have faith in the world and in each other. I want them to love everyone they encounter and I want everyone else to love them. That's my Christmas wish this year. I want the world to be filled with souls who love others even more than themselves. I'm working on it, little by little, but we must start with the little ones, raising them to know that there is good in everyone who chooses to see the light in the world.
That's how I felt last Monday after a weekend of sobbing at the TV and then finally seeing the two children that I babysit. We walked to the park, just like every other Monday. But this time my observant five-year-old friend looked at the flag in his neighbor's yard and asked, "Ms. Renee, why is that flag more downer?"
Why? That's a question I've been asking myself for over a week now after hearing about the events that unfolded in Connecticut and the sweet, innocent lives that were taken. Why are flags only half way to the sky while Christmas lights twinkle behind them? Why are some mourning death while others are celebrating eternal life? Hearing his sincere question left me asking why again. I told him that sometimes people want to show extra support for their country, so they fly the flag at half mast. The answer satisfied him, but not me.
I beamed at those sweet ones the rest of the day. All they know is good in the world. To a two-year-old and a five-year-old, evil is Captain Hook. A bad guy is someone who litters, and guns shoot rubber darts. I want to protect them from what's really out there. I want them to have faith in the world and in each other. I want them to love everyone they encounter and I want everyone else to love them. That's my Christmas wish this year. I want the world to be filled with souls who love others even more than themselves. I'm working on it, little by little, but we must start with the little ones, raising them to know that there is good in everyone who chooses to see the light in the world.
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