I’ve spent a lot of time with kids lately. I went to my parents’ for a week and hung out with my niece and nephew, and a few days ago I went to a water park with about 20 kids from our church. I can really appreciate some things about little kids:
1. They’re extremely easy to impress. I felt that I finally reached cool aunt status with my niece and nephew when we went to this bounce house place and I went down the big slide with them. Later, just to solidify the status, I bought them Pez dispensers for $1.50. They were thrilled.
At the waterpark, a little gang of boys, about fourth or fifth grade, were just beside themselves when I went down a waterslide with them. The great thing is that the big slide at the bounce house and the waterslide were totally fun for ME, and it made them all so happy, thinking that I am totally awesome.
2. Little kids don’t care what you look like. It doesn’t matter to them how you look in your swimsuit or if you’re sweating profusely.
3. They don’t mind if you bring your baby with you. In fact, they love it. They don’t care if he cries or if he talks too loud. They get a huge kick out of seeing him laugh or smile, and they especially love it if they can get him to give them a high five.
4. They think that you can take care of things. Lost money? No problem–I’ve got them covered. Need help with sunscreen? Come on over here, and actually, let me use this SPF 70 instead of your 30. When you’re a mom, they just assume you know what you’re doing. Kids are the greatest.
So, the time I’ve spent with these little people lately has really made me happy, and makes me remember how much more accepting we all used to be before we turned into cranky grown-ups.
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