Kids are funny, especially when they aren't trying. This last Sunday after church, my son Derrick asked us what it meant to give someone a piece of your mind. Of course he was picturing it literally, which would seem odd to a 5 year old. So I explained that it meant you were telling them exactly what you think about something. That seemed to make sense to him, and he left the room. A short time later, I heard Abbie crying in the living room. I came out to learn that Derrick had pinched her. When I asked him what had happened, he promptly informed me that he was just "giving her a piece of his mind." What a stinker! Anyways, things calmed down shortly afterwards and we proceeded with the day. Then, out of nowhere, Derrick just fell apart. I asked him why he was crying, and he said that he felt bad because he didn't "choose the right" because he pinched his sister. It was so sweet to see, and somewhat surprising because I hadn't really lectured him for the previous incident. For several minutes he was inconsolable over the whole thing. When he calmed down, we were able to talk about repentance and how we can forgive others and ourselves.
Wednesday night brought another humorous yet heartbreaking moment. As I was trying to get Derrick in his bath, he started crying and told me that he didn't feel very good. This seemed odd given that moments before he had been competing for a spot on the Olympic jumping-on-the-bed team. Anyways, I asked what was wrong, where it hurt, and what it felt like. His response, through sad tears, "I feel sloppy." Hmm, not quite sure what that means. So I say, that doesn't make any sense. Do you feel sick? Does your head hurt? To which I get another, "I don't know, I just feel sloppy." Apparently there is some new terminology out there that I missed the memo on. I continued to press for a word that made some sense. His next attempt left me even more baffled. He said, "I feel flat." HUH? I said, "Flat like..." and he laid down on the ground and said, "Like this." Well, after about 10 minutes of running circles around this conversation, I finally convinced him that a bath would make him feel better. He didn't think so, but gave it a try anyways. I was able to get him to bed a little while later, hoping that he hadn't contracted some rare disease that made him feel so strange that he could think of no good words to describe his condition. Fortunately, he woke up the next morning having forgotten that the whole incident ever happened. Go figure!
Wednesday night brought another humorous yet heartbreaking moment. As I was trying to get Derrick in his bath, he started crying and told me that he didn't feel very good. This seemed odd given that moments before he had been competing for a spot on the Olympic jumping-on-the-bed team. Anyways, I asked what was wrong, where it hurt, and what it felt like. His response, through sad tears, "I feel sloppy." Hmm, not quite sure what that means. So I say, that doesn't make any sense. Do you feel sick? Does your head hurt? To which I get another, "I don't know, I just feel sloppy." Apparently there is some new terminology out there that I missed the memo on. I continued to press for a word that made some sense. His next attempt left me even more baffled. He said, "I feel flat." HUH? I said, "Flat like..." and he laid down on the ground and said, "Like this." Well, after about 10 minutes of running circles around this conversation, I finally convinced him that a bath would make him feel better. He didn't think so, but gave it a try anyways. I was able to get him to bed a little while later, hoping that he hadn't contracted some rare disease that made him feel so strange that he could think of no good words to describe his condition. Fortunately, he woke up the next morning having forgotten that the whole incident ever happened. Go figure!
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