"What? Why would I quit something just because it's hard?!"
Those are the words my almost 9 year old son said to me the other day. I was stunned. He was incredibly offended that even made the suggestion that he would quit his classes because they were hard. My question was an innocent one, as he was talking about how hard of a time he was having with a certain move. He sounded very disappointed and discouraged because he was having difficulties, so I inquired to what he planned to do about it and I asked him if he was thinking about quitting. His mind couldn't comprehend the reasoning behind giving something up just because it's difficult.
I don't think I've ever been more proud of him.
And I don't think I've ever felt more ashamed of myself for being a quitter. If a nine year old boy has the courage to keep going, even when the road gets rough, what is my problem as an adult? I've spent a lot of my life, giving things up because I get discouraged with myself and feel I'll never improve. It's always been easy for me to quit, and I think I've missed out on a lot of things in life by throwing in the towel when I get aggervated with myself and my abilities.
I think a lot of adults do.
Sometimes I wish I could see through my son's eyes and maybe be a bit more like him. He's so honest with himself and with the people around him. I never want to discourage that part of him, but I often worry that as he grows up, he'll become more and more jaded, as so many of us do.
We adults think we know everything, but if we took the time to sit and listen to the kids around us, I think we could learn quite a bit about being better people ourselves. Instead, we sit around, complaining about everyone else and how rough our lives are. We sit around and judge the people standing next to us. We throw stones at one another...we adults can be pretty disgusting people.
Then we read self help books, go to counseling, and other crap to try and fix all our problems. What a shame. What we should be doing is taking a closer look inside ourselves.
It's such a shame that we seem to lose more and more of our humanity as we grow up.
Of course, there are some children who are already on a fast track to the adult world of cynisisim and pesimissim, and I really feel for them. These are the kids who are forced fed thier parents beliefs and the kids who have had lives so awful no one can really blame them for thier outlook on life. This loss of innocence is so sad.
Of course, my son is no saint. He's a kid and kids do things that kids do. They throw fits, smart off, slack off, forget things, etc. That's stuff is normal, and it's the parents job to correct it. People who don't understand things like this have no business having children. Another mark as we become adults is we tend to forget that we were once children and we did the same damn things to piss off our parents and families too, so in reality, we really need to stop being so hypocritcal. But as far as kids go, he's rarely in trouble, rarely throws a fit, and rarely gives anyone a bad time. He has his moments, but compared to some of the children I've seen and worked with (I've worked in three different daycares in my life), he quite possibly could be a saint. LOL
It annoys me when people point out his flaws, because he does have them, but what person doesn't? Why belittle him for it? Certainly, these people are the kind of people who have a hard time analyzing themselves, and find it easier to pick out other peoples "quirks" and critisize them. Another trait of becoming and adult.
I wish I had half the integrity, honesty and forthrightness my son has. He's a much better human than me or anyone else in our family. I admire him, and I pray that he never loses his sense of justice, his love of his fellow man, his compassion, and his courage to continue down the rough road. He's such a good boy, and I'll argue that point with anyone who cares to disagree with me.
Posted by Zoso at May 16, 2004 12:25 AM