CHILD-SITTING

October 31, 2015

My god-daughters came to the house today to spend some bonding time with me and mom.  We watched tv, played with toys and read some interesting books.  Mom commented that we may be virtually on the same age level since we like the same cartoons, movies, tv shows and are interested in the same types of toys.

What is it with spending time with children that makes us want to be children again?  Or maybe, it’s just me who hasn’t yet outgrown my love for the simpler things in life, and expressing it in my love for cartoons and colors?

The Proverbs said to “train a child in the way he should go, and he shall not depart from it”.  I personally have witnessed these in the lives of those around me.  Children who were trained to cultivate their minds, talents and interests with the full support of their parents, whether they had a lot of means or very limited ones, often end up being successful and happy with what they do.  While children whose interests and opinions were often neglected and disregarded by their parents, whether they had the means to do so or a true excuse of not having enough means, ended up being unhappy with the way things turn out in their lives.

When I was a child, I had a lot of interests that I believe even one lifetime is not enough to accomplish them.  Mom said that the family led me on a career that is most available to them economically, but which will only serve as a gateway.  Once I get a stable job I can pursue my other interests in life.  Which I realized was true to a certain extent.

When I turned one, Mom said that in the ‘quaint’ ceremony my grandmother performed on me, I chose the money first, then also picked up the pen.  That meant that I would grow up working for a living, but also pursuing my other interests in life.  Kind of like trying to do everything I need and want in life.

And that, I believe, is what I am doing now.  I value the work and career GOD has given me because it has enabled me to provide a means of livelihood for my family, and to help others who need it.  It has also given me the chance to pursue my other hobbies that make my life more meaningful and fun.  At the end of the workday, I would have done my task in helping settle the accounts of the organization I work in.  By writing, I would also have done my effort in organizing and settling my thoughts, emotions and soul in the greater scheme of things to which my life belongs.

So in effect, it was really not I who child-sat on my god-daughters, but their presence made me connect to the child within me, for indeed, “the child is father to the man / and I wish my life to be / bound each to each by natural piety” (‘My Heart Leaps Up’ by H.W. Longfellow)