My four-year-old nephew is over this week at my mother's place. What a kid. We ate dinner last night and played with Legos for close to an hour. I helped him build a house and some farm animals that were in the accompanying Lego book. He had a little trouble with the sheep, but made a mean-looking cow. I was inspired by this moment; maybe I'll really be okay having my own child after this little preview. I enjoyed being a kid again, and relished in the fact that I could still remember the thoughts that passed through my brain when I was 4. I remember what was really important, what hurt, and what was scary.
We can't treat kids as if they were grown-ups with a calloused view at the trifles we are faced with. When you're four, there aren't any trifles. Everything's new, and it's a big deal. Hell, even maintaining a certain level of concentration is a feat. It was pretty hard to keep my nephew interested in the whole Lego thing, but we made it. So we sat there, I in my shorts and sweatshirt, legs spread about the floor, and he in his Spider-Man pajamas, doing what I always loved to do. He was amazed as I was at his age at a grown-up making things that looked just as they did in the pictures. I remember that being hard, and I lost interest, too. I miss being a child; maybe I'll get my chance to live it again vicariously through my son or daughter.
After Legos, I went home and watched "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and wondered why I enjoyed it so much.
1 comment:
I miss Lincoln Logs from when I was young. Too bad corporate America screwed them up and made them out of colorful plastics. What was wrong with the brown wooden logs? It instilled the frontier spirit in me. Now, they instill the McDonalds playroom spirit in kids.
I am not goign to talk about this anymore because I am so damn bitter.
I am sure you will be a great father though. Just teach your child to treat golf clubs like a precious gift and to always replace their divots.
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