The Three B's
1) BLANKET FORTS
I have always believed one of the best things you can gift a child is with the ability to find comfort, healing and security even when the world outside comes crashing down on them throughout their lives. I know this activity "blanket fort" is a no-brainer and almost every kid in America knows what it is and how to build one. But I look back on my boys lives and know that some of the little things we did together, whether they see it or not, established a sense of knowing everything is going to work out. I made it my mission to make a home rather than a house, make a life that was filled with lessons and experiments and explorations, make a refuge within the walls - a refuge buried deep inside souls, whether I'm present or not. I knew with my own childhood circumstances and later with my adult circumstances they needed a strong foundation that could sustain them when "life gets tough" (from Unstoppable, Unbreakable Hearts). Inside the soft, organic walls, old blankets and sheets held together on chairs or stools with clothes pins and safety pins, the rest of the world became silent, ineffective, unable to touch the ones who giggled, snuggled and read stories, made shadow puppets, wrestled, tickled or slept inside. A home inside a home. A safety net that shut out anything unwanted.
Exodus 26:31-34 "You shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks also being of gold, on four sockets of silver. You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies."
My prayer as they played was that through me, through the magic of blankets and pillows, they could connect with that holy place inside that would constantly be a guide and a force that could never be touched. A holy place within....
2) BASKETS
Next time you stop to scream at, raise your voice to or condemn a child for finding something unusual in the usual, please ask yourself how worth it it truly is. An old basket, a cardboard box, things that are messy, things that get broken, things that get torn and worn --- all can be replaced. All are JUST THINGS. The memories made from letting a kid be a kid are priceless. And while they sleep in baskets, or pick your favorite flowers out of your flower garden, or leave mud prints across the floor in their hurry inside, know those moments escape and fly away in the blink of an eye. Rather than criticize, cherish.
3) BABIES (even for little boys)
Even sons can have crazy feelings for baby dolls of all shapes, sizes and conditions. My sons grew up in a place and a time when boys were expected to play with footballs, trucks and anything masculine. But my youngest, the one soon to be a daddy, went through a time when babies were all that mattered. And he loved and nurtured and cared for them, held them, sang to them, kissed them. All the while, I was shown and knew without a shadow of a doubt he would one day be such a good dad.
The best parts of yourself you can give to any child is the same as what you can give to one another:
acceptance, love, appreciation, comfort, security, warmth, shelter, guidance by example, allowance to make choices, an ability to rise after a fall, patience, understanding and space to make decisions, find answers, seek out truth, test waters, figure out where and how to travel through this life.
As I wait for my grand little boy, I feel gratitude for where I've been, where I'm heading.
"A boy is TRUTH with dirt on his face,
BEAUTY with a cut on his finger
and the HOPE of the future with a frog in his pocket." ~unknown
No comments:
Post a Comment