Monday, May 31, 2004

I love kids.

Before, I couldn't stand them. There was a time when I saw them as disasters in little packages. By disasters I mean the kind that end up with either chinaware shattering in a million pieces or those in little swaddling clothes and feeding bottles. Either scenario, it was LOSS, LOSS, LOSS for me.

Interestingly, things have changed. Quite frankly, I would rather spend more time with children now than with most grownups I know. For one thing, kids are quite honest with their feelings. Sure, they may fib about who took the last cookie from the cookie jar, but if you ask them how they feel about things, chances are you'll get an honest answer. Now how many adults do you know do that?

Kids remind me to enjoy the little things in life. Sure, you probably can go out to swanky spots for expensive vacations, but kids seem to have found the secret of having a great time without breaking the bank. When was the last time you got a kick out of riding a swing set? Or struggling to finish melting ice cream in a cone in the peak of summer? Or going nuts in the rain and making the biggest splashes in the puddles? (It's funny that as we get older, we tend to forget those little, but important, secrets.)

When kids like you, they like you unconditionally. It doesn't matter what your annual income is, or what school you graduated from. For kids, all they need to see in you is that genuine desire to be their friend and they will be one to you. Geez, how come it doesn't work that way when you're past 12?

Finally, probably the best reason why I love kids now is because of their amazing recilience. Haven't you noticed how a child may trip and fall then cry his heart out but then in almost the same minute may start running around again as soon as he gets up? Kids are not ones to nurse wounds. They'd rather move on to the next challenge, the next adventure around the corner with their scars and all. Their tenacity and curiosity of things around them never cease to amaze me.

Because of these things and more, I love having children around me.
As time passes, I hope I will just grow older.

But never old.

posted by Grace @ 5/31/2004 12:54:00 AM