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My Kids

 Sometimes, my children hold hands in the back of the car, and they just giggle. It's reliably the greatest thing that happens on the planet, and I can't predict when it might occur, and I can't fully interpret the meaning of the laughter.


At other times, my son walks up to my daughter and pushes her (for no clear reason). This really alarmed me until I watched a Chris Rock special, and Rock spoke about his daughter's fondness for biting the limbs of strangers. I really think that Rock should win some kind of humanitarian award--just for publishing this confession.

My spouse and I are not sure how to counsel my daughter. Occasionally, there is a temptation to say: "Just push back!" This doesn't seem very Christlike...but....maybe...who cares? I took pleasure in a picture book yesterday, "Timothy Goes to School." In the book, Timothy is bullied by Claude--and Timothy does not meekly accept this nonsense. Instead, he daydreams about Claude falling into a mud-puddle.

"Everyone has good days," says my son's speech therapist. "And everyone has bad days. In that sense, kids are just like adults."

I understand this, intellectually. But the moments of "pushing" are still startling to me. One day at a time....

Comments

  1. You write like I dream. It would be nice to see a memoir. Signed: Your Jewish Mother

    ReplyDelete
  2. Joshie is actually experimenting with the scientific and philosophical aspects of causation. For example, the counterfactual theory of causation states that causes are events that would have made a difference if they had not happened. For example, if Josh had not pushed Susie, she would not have fallen to the ground....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Or we didn't shield his eyes well during "Law and Order: SVU" ....and he picked up some ideas from Olivia Benson.... :-)

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