“WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GROW UP AND START ACTING YOUR AGE!”

Wow!  Can you imagine being on the other end of that conversation?

Sadly enough, I am pretty sure most of us can.

Even sadder is the fact that those of us that are parents have probably said that or something very similar to our own children at some time or another.  The version I tend to use goes a little like this. 

“How old are you again?”  “Are you sure?”  “Then why did you just do that?”  “What were you thinking?”

 A little different, however the same affect I am sure. 

Usually when we make a statement like this, one or more of our kids have done or said something we consider to be immature and we feel obligated to let them know.

What if you said or did something and one of your children said to you, “When are you going to start thinking and acting like a child?”

 As we get older we start to think and act differently than we did when we were children.  Of course in the act of getting older we have learned and experienced a lot as well as being saddled with responsibilities you just don’t have as a child. All of which helps us to grow and mature into the adult versions of ourselves.  However, at the same time do we also tend to lose something special as well?

A few years ago I was driving my then 9 year old daughter Elysa to school when all of a sudden she started telling me about this amazing idea she had.  For the life of me I cannot remember what the idea was, however I do remember thinking that it was very unrealistic.

 Just when I was ready to tell her that it wasn’t possible, it would never happen, or she was just being silly, I stopped myself.  You see I know what it feels like to share your ideas and thoughts with someone just to get that sort of response.  I was a kid once and I had a very active imagination.  Plus who was I to tell her what’s possible or not.

Instead I said “you are a very creative young girl and have a real imagination.” 

You never know, with a little support and encouragement she may just change the world.

I have an older daughter named Alex who is now 16 years old.  One Saturday when she was around 10 we decided to spend the day shopping at the Mall.  During lunch we were in the middle of the food court eating when all of a sudden she decides she wanted to sing.   I could not believe it.  I stopped eating and immediately asked her “what are you doing?”

“Singing.”

“Yeah, I understand that.  But why?” 

“Because I want to.”

“Aren’t you worried that other people might hear you?”

“No, not really.”

Then she stood up next to the table and started dancing to go along with her singing. 

“Aren’t you worried about embarrassing yourself?”

 “No, not really.” 

And she continued singing and dancing until she was done without a care in the world. 

To her she was just having fun and really wasn’t concerned with what other people thought.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could all think like this?  Could you imagine the risks that we would be willing to take if we weren’t afraid of failing or embarrassing ourselves?

 Anything could be possible.

My youngest child Andrew is just 5 years old.  Even though he is very young he teaches me a very important lesson every single day and that is the difference that a smile and a few kind words can make.   He smiles more than anyone I know and always has a kind word or two to share with others.  No matter what type of mood I am in it always raises my spirits when I see his little face light up and hear the kind words he has to share with me. 

A couple of weeks ago I came home from work and he greeted me as usual.  He ran to the door with a smile on his face, gave me a hug, and said.

“Hi dad, I am glad you are home.  How was your day?”

“Hi buddy, I am glad I am home too.  I have had a pretty tough day.” 

I then proceeded to walk up stairs to put my stuff down, turned around, and there was Andrew.  He had followed me up stairs.  He immediately grabbed hold of my leg and said.

“I am really sorry you had a bad day.”  “I hope it is better now.”

The value of something so small and easy as a smile and a kind word or two is truly amazing and at times could mean the world to someone.

I believe that thinking and acting like a child can make a huge difference in how we live our lives and how happy we are.  Because when you are young there is a certain degree of innocence that allows you to have a bigger imagination, be more creative, believe anything is possible, forgive and forget easier, and just have fun.

There is so much that we can learn from our children if we would just pay attention.  From my children I have learned to dream big, take risks, and love whole heartedly.  

I will leave you today with a single question.

“When are you going to start thinking and acting like a child?”