I Teach Them, They Teach Me

My children have taught me that it's the little things in life that can make the biggest difference. The things we take for granted on a daily basis or that we've grown accustomed to - the things that we do as a quick fix to a problem - the things that we intend to just throw away. All of these things tend to hold the interest of children in a way that we, as adults, have forgotten. My children remind me all the time. Below are just a few examples of this.

Things we take for granted or have grown accustomed to:

• Being able to 'see your breath' when you go out on a cold morning
• The way the car defogger 'magically' clears up the window
• Seeing the underside a bug quite clearly and closely as it climbs up the window

Things we do as a quick fix to a problem:

• We were out of peanut butter and jelly (THE HORROR!!!) and my 5 year old little guy, who will be known here as WiseGuy, wanted to pack his lunch. He suggested a hot dog 'sandwich.' At first I told him that it wouldn't be hot but thought 'Silly! The kid lives to eat cold hot dogs straight from the fridge!' So I got two pieces of bread, spread some ketchup on, cut the hot dog length wise into strips, laid them on the bread, topped it with a slice of american cheese and there he had his hot dog sandwich. I wasn't very pleased with this for a lunch option but he couldn't have been more thrilled and hugged and kissed me over and over for the rest of the night.
• My 9 year old daughter, who will be known here as SmartyPants, likes bubble baths but she has very sensitive skin so we don't buy bubble bath for her. She was whining about this fact one night before her bath so I went in, took her brother's kids shampoo and poured it under her running bath water....VIOLA! Bubbles! She was tickled.

Things we intend to throw away:

• Large cardboard boxes
• Shoe boxes
• The little pamphlet type thingie that always comes inside package of toys to advertise the stuff that you HAVE to buy to go with the toy that you just bought
• Stickers....of any kind
• Card....or any kind
• Half colored page from a coloring book

Sometimes my kids make me feel OLD, but most days they remind me what it is to be a kid and experience things through their eyes. It's so nice to be a kid again.