... Leave Those Kids Alone :)

You know the old saying: "Youth is wasted on the young" -- meaning that kids just don't appreciate what they have and really use/enjoy it?

Well, I had an epiphany yesterday. It may be totally obvious sounding now, but it was an 'ah' moment for me....

Why should kids think about how 'good they got it'?

We say that we want them to appreciate what they have, so they could really experience it or so they could avoid losing it. Therefore, they should know that they have it 'easy' while we walked up hill both ways, or we failed to appreciate our youth, or whatever.

I had thought of myself as wise....

I knew that kids could not really understand us and what we were trying to tell them. I knew that you could try to tell them what you have learned, to 'give them a leg up,' but that they would not listen. And it was not their fault. I was so wise, knowing not to hold this against them, or so I thought. With this wisdom, I thought I might be able find a way to convince my boys that I understood, so that they would in turn listen to me.

But yesterday, I remembered the other phrase we all know: "Ignorance is bliss."

And, I realized that this is not always a bad thing. This phrase to me was a bad thing, a chastisement. But now I beleive that it is not just a statement about being a sheep lead to slaughter or a sloth letting life pass by.

Because, kids are ignorant... of the woes of trying to keep/find a job, of paying the bills, of driving defensively, of watching out for psychos (mostly), of getting old, of dying. Most kids are... and that's a GOOD THING! Let them have their joyous childhood, not fully understanding how good they got it.

Honestly... to know joy, you have to know sadness, ...to appreciate comfort, you have to know pain, ...to understand the benefit of the security of a good home, you have to know the fear and uncertainty of the lack of one.

Frankly, kids are too young and happily innocent for us to TRY to show them how good they have it. ...Too soon, they will understand.

So, just as it is your job to help them through those moments of understanding, it is your job as a parent to help them enjoy their ignorant bliss now. Maybe, seeing their innocent joy will give you a little happy feeling, remembering your past bliss.

I remembered that when I looked in the face of an old friend who is facing his mortality. And, I remember that when I looked at the wildly impish grin of my boy later on. We should always remember to cherish our youth and ignorant bliss, even if only vicariously in the laughter of a child.

So, I remember another quote (from a song): "...leave those kids alone."