Harsh Realities

I've written many times how utterly admirable I consider the innocence, humor and honesty of children. I've related my moments of concern, a decade early, for when my boys become teens, etc.

Yesterday, I was musing over how harsh the world is...and how hard it would be to cope with a sudden exposure to all this harshness, all at once. Fortunately (I guess) bliss fades slowly as children become acclimated to reality. I am of the camp that wishes a)there was no reality, b)that acclimation might come as slowly as possible and c)I did not have to be the lead teacher in all-things-harsh-and-real.

Not so long ago, my son learned that adults fall down (when I tripped on a hike with him). He has since learned that we don't always keep our word (I fell asleep once instead of telling him his bedtime story, as promised). He is now learning the value(?) of money, being rewarded by people with change for various little tasks. All-too-soon, he will be exposed to the pains of love.

This all came to me when sitting in the bathroom. I discovered we had no conventional paper product to complete the mission...so I used baby wipes. Ahhhhhhhhhh. Lanolin enriched, smooth, cool baby wipes! That's when I was moved to epiphany: my boys have never felt the roughness of toilet paper, let alone the sandpaper found in public bathrooms or the strange waxpaper squares we had in school bathrooms...so very much harshness ahead.

I have a friend who suffered an aneurysm. She had to learn everything again, from walking and talking to her family and friends. She expressed to me that re-learning the hard, cruel nature of the world was the worst of her recovery.

At times when I've been impatient with my slow learning I long for some microchip implant or epiphany that will lead me to complete enlightenment. I wish I were, you know, smart! Reflecting on my friend's recovery and my boys' gradual exposure...I guess it's probably for the best that our brains are on simmer rather than microwave-enlightenment. I guess I'll just slow cook and bask in it all, day by day...and hopefully I'll be there (and be supportive) when my kids are exposed to some of the more harsh realities they'll face.