the older, the smarter?
Yesterday and today me and my kids did a very small but still gingerbread town. They are only front side and that gave me the opportunity to try to explain dimensions to a five year old. She wanted to do a regular house with four walls and a roof but I said that we would do them 2D instead of 3D. For a minute I thought that she would accept that but of course she asked what dimensions was and there wasn't many minutes until she could tell me that what we where baking was in 3D. I should have learned by now that I can't fool them and come with easy answers. When my English speaking readers will visit us I feel pretty sure that the very first word you will learn is varför why.
Our sugary town has seven buildings. Two of them is churches, one is a school and the rest is toy stores. I made a cross to make a church and then Ella, the middle child, wanted to do a cross too. First she told me that it was a one church with two buildings but then she got quiet for a while and changed her mind and said that it was two different churches, one for some and one for the ones that are not allowed in the first one.
It hurts that she is four years old and thinks of that sort of things. We have tried to not talk about not being welcome in our old Church and said that we wanted to change Church. But they are bright and observant all three of them. But I got happy right away when she said that my Church had to be the boring one because everyone was welcome at her Church. She gave me the tip later on that I should only have one color candy on my Church so everyone could see that it is a more boring place.
I realized that I can't project my own feelings of being rejected to her. She wasn't sad at all. She just felt that it was strange but natural with people that wants to be alone with people just like them and that she felt like it was their loss to miss a wonderful world of diversity. I hope that I will be as tolerating as her some day.
3 comments:
You seem to have a way of making seemingly normal activities with your children into very interesting ones. Good job with that!
You're already accepting enough, Alex--forget tolerant. If you stay as kind as you are, you'll get far as a man. At least, that's something I've learned so far--if I'm nice to people, they don't bother me as much. About anything.
Your daughter is very wise for her age, too. You're a great dad. ;) I hope that I'll be as good a father as you are if I adopt kids someday.
What a great dad! And from the way you answered my many "varförs" when I was in Sweden with you, I am sure you are patient and skilled at answering your children.
I love Ella. What wisdom and insight. Tell her that Peterson said hello.
Oh, that really warms my heart!!
Post a Comment