A Child Shall Lead Them

Children make me laugh. I think far to often we are trying to teach them lessons on how to grow up to be good citizens, or are often annoyed at their little oddities that we don't take time to stop and really listen to them or pause to watch them. They are full of wonder. They explore. They create. They are uninhibited. At least until adulthood squelches all of the fun right out of them and they become bitter, grouchy, negative adults like the rest of us. Seriously, they have a lot to teach us.
Like today, for instance, I had a couple of little girls stand by my counter and say, "Mrs. Raben....watch what we can do..." They then proceeded to raise their arm in the air and lick their own armpit. I have to admit....it was a feat I myself had never thought to try. It made me laugh out loud.
"Why would you want to do that?" I asked. To which they shrugged and ran off to show some other poor teacher who more than likely told them to stop doing that and not to let them catch them doing it again. Squelch!!
If you really want to know how the world functions, just stop and ask a child. You will be amazed and in awe of the answers you receive. They are full of excitement and honesty. They will ask you how come your glasses are so thick or they'll show you the most creative valentine box you have ever seen. They will guess that a great white shark is as big as their grandpa and that "No, the kid that was in trouble yesterday and was sitting in the principal's office might have looked a lot like them but in actuality it was really their older brother (even though they only have a sister.) They pray prayers that God will please take a vacuum and suck all of the cancer away...or bury it in a hole in the backyard. There eyes light up and twinkle when they bring you a cupcake on their birthday that they helped make. They tell you they are worried about their friend who has a "friend" called Mr. Lefthand who sometimes hits himself. They are eager to please you and they want to go to school even when they are sick because they don't want to ruin their perfect attendance record. They talk and interrupt the classroom because it's reading time, and they struggle at reading. And why wouldn't they struggle when too often they are trying to read stories where the children have names like Portia or Marisol and they can't remember them, let alone pronounce them.
Children are curious and they ask lots of questions and want to tell lots of stories. It's hard for them to sit and listen when they really just want to show you how to lick their armpit or ask you why there is a piece of candy on the teacher's desk and can they have it. Do you realize how difficult it is to be at school all day long when you have a brand new puppy at home waiting for you?
I guess what I'm trying to say is, children are amazing! Talk to them. They have a lot to teach you. Mostly.....how to live......and how to love, ...and how to laugh.