Don’t Ever Change
Posted on December 13, 2010 by Guest
No matter which holiday you celebrate, there is a certain magic that children bring with their exuberance and unquestioning belief. Today, guest writer Wendi Brandow shares her wish that children never lost that sense of innocence and wonder.
Dont ever change, dont ever change. I whispered these words to myself as I lay snuggled up to my husband, who in turn cocooned our soon-to-be, five-year-old son. We were laying beneath a pile of blankets on top of a mountain of pillows watching The Polar Express for the tenth time since Thanksgiving. Santa had just announced who would receive the first gift of Christmas and my son erupted in a burst of applause. His wonder had gotten the best of him. It was as if he had never seen it before and he was so excited he couldnt contain himself, as if he himself would be receiving the first gift of Christmas.
More and more lately, a part of me needs to believe he will always be that innocent and filled with delight. He seems so big lately. He has grown an inch-and-a-half in the two months since he started school. He has stopped hugging me as much and needs far fewer kisses. He has also started to be judged, and not always kindly, by the opinions of others.
Things that go bump in the night
Posted on October 27, 2009 by FoBaM-Jamie
Do you remember what it felt like to believe with all your heart that there was a monster under your bed? When I was young, I took many precautions to ensure my nighttime safety. Instead of “crawling” into bed at the end of the day, I launched myself from clear across the room, leaping into the air a good four feet from the edge of my bed – hopefully far enough that no monster could reach out and grab my ankle. I never went to bed without calling out to my parents, “See you tomorrow!” and waiting for their sometimes exasperated, but mostly bemused response assuring that they would, in fact, see me. And, of course, I always slept well tucked-in … no toes hanging out in the breeze for passing ghoulies to tickle.
My own daughter is remarkably brave when it comes to things that would have given me nightmares when I was twice her age. Though she’s not quite six, she has few issues with movies that I consider potentially traumatizing – things like Disney’s Hocus Pocus or Twitched. I was uncertain of taking her to see the movie version of Where the Wild Things Are, but had nothing to fear as she took it all in with more curiosity than anxiety.
She does have, however, a completely irrational (though very common) fear of clowns. She’s also not crazy about spiders – which is weird because she’s fascinated by nearly every other type of creepy-crawly. She is also obsessed with burglars (which I learned is a fairly common fear at her age.)
[poll id="19"]
Image Credit: Dustin Diaz
