September 6-11, 2011- Kidisms…

     On this day ten years ago, I was pregnant with my first child, and I remember waking up to the tragic acts of terrorism inflicted upon America on September 11, 2001, and in my shock and horror, my mind went directly to my belly and the life growing inside of me.   How could I possibly bring a child into this kind of world?  Now, I realize that children are exactly what the world needed to get us all through because children mean hope, second chances, and new life in a chaotic and imperfect world.  Children bring us humor, joy, and the promise of a better future for everyone as they grow in character and learn from the mistakes of the world and attempt to correct those mistakes when a brand new day dawns. 

      Since I last wrote, my children have shown me their great capacity for humor, joy, and compassion, and on this day, remembering 2001, when Americans experienced one of the scariest and saddest moments in our history, instead of allowing the terrorists to win in 2011, I choose to laugh and find joy in the future of America, in America’s children, particularly my own.  Keeping that in mind, I’d like to share some of the fun and heartwarming “kidisms” of my week, which provide me with hope for their future and the future of the great country we are blessed to call our home. 

     To start, my oldest showed his most sensitive side this week when spending our last weeknight with my fiancé, who has to head back to his home island to work and live after commuting back and forth the last 3 weeks to help me while my cracked radius bone was healing.  Now, that I am almost back to my full range of motion with my “broken wing,” he has to go back to being a Kwajalein “weekend warrior,” at least until we find a more permanent solution to this dilemma. This was tough on all of us, but most surprising of all, my first baby broke down in tears at bedtime while we said prayers that final night with the man who has become such a good friend and guidance counselor to my boys and my best friend and love of my life.  It’s not that we won’t all see him again soon (just have to wait until the weekend), but my son’s compassion and show of pure emotion at our family being “split” between islands again for awhile was heartbreaking, but also made me feel very blessed to have a child with such a sensitivity for others.  With his soon to be stepfather, my child has fully accepted him into his life and heart and truly misses him when we can’t all be together.  I thank God for my boy’s sensitive spirit and compassionate heart.  Maybe it’s because he was born not longer after our nation’s most tragic terrorist attack…born with the capacity to weep and wail for others when they cannot do so for themselves…born to love and accept others just as they are and display empathy for their struggles, even when they are not his own. He’s my hope for a better future, and my youngest, well; he shows me how to find humor in any situation because he does it so naturally for himself. 

     For example, the other day he was looking at a recipe book with my fiancé as they decided what new dishes they could make that day, and when the recipe for “Tuna Cakes” was mentioned, my son replies, “I don’t like tuna, but I love cake, so I would eat the cake part.”  A kid’s perspective is so much different than our own, and we couldn’t help but giggle at his “chef joke.”  On a more serious note, one afternoon, my youngest was being talked to about his occasional accidents when it comes to going to the bathroom. It was suggested to him that he would never have his game, friend time, and treat privileges taken away at all if he would stop having accidents in his drawers versus going on the potty as soon as he needs to.  I have yet to find the age that “potty talk” is not funny to a boy, tooting, burping, and talking about poop seem to have a never ending fascination for the male species.  To that end, as soon as “poop” and “drawers” were mentioned, my son says with a giggle, “Oh, I’m going to poop in my drawer, you know, not my drawers, but my drawer.”  I know, I know, you can’t believe I’m writing this down for all to “hear,” but hey, kids say the darnest things, right?  I’m not proud of his “potty talk,” but I do see the humor in it.  At least kids are never afraid to say exactly what they are thinking or to just be silly for that matter.   And we should never be afraid of anything with God as our anchor and his love, joy, and peace within our reach whenever we need it.  God bless those today who have given their lives for our freedom and provided us with the opportunity to live life to the fullest.   Now go chat with your kids or someone else’s today, so you can have a “kidism” story of your own to share and laugh about with others.