Isn't it grand? Being a parent is probably the most challenging and most rewarding job in all of Creation. And being a blind parent is all the more rewarding. And exhausting.
I can tell you that color crayon is a real bugger, too. It shows right through the new coat of paint. And wall paper in a child's room is not the wisest thing a parent could do. One little spot that comes away from the wall and it is an open invitation to see what's behind it.
My two youngest decided that since daddy couldn't see what they were doing, they could sneak out of bed, walk right under daddy's nose and into the kitchen. There, they quietly, almost quietly, lifted the lid of the big old cookie jar and gently lifted out a few cookies. Then they returned, boldly marching past daddy and into bed, where they tucked their ill gotten gains under their pillows.
Enter daddy. "You guys still awake?" daddy asks.
"Huh?" comes the sleepy answer.
"Here, let daddy fluff your little pillows so you can sleep better", daddy says.
"Jamie made me do it", Renae squeals before I can lift her pillow. Younger than her brother by two years, she was far and away the more vocal.
"There have been two crimes committed here tonight. Can you tell me what they are?" I asked.
"Jamie and I took cookies when we knew we were not supposed to", Renae ventured, thinking that they constituted the two crimes.
"That's one," I agreed, "What's the other crime?"
After several bad guesses I explained, "Your second crime is that both of you believed that because your daddy is blind, he is too dumb to know what you are doing. But of course tonight you have learned that this is not true. Still, the crime remains. You have insulted your daddy. You have broken the Trust. Trust is so important in our family. Love and Trust. Once you break it, Trust is so very hard to get back. I love you both beyond words, but you will now have to begin the hard job of gaining my Trust again."
And they did. I will put my children up against all the children in the world and I will always swell with pride at how well they are living their lives and raising their children.
Curious Carl
No comments:
Post a Comment