Simple Observations

So I don't have any kids, but I used to be one.

<- See?

And I work at a daycamp every summer - I have no shortage of kid experience, let's put it that way.

Notice that bandaid on my arm?
<- Yeah, that one.

What do you think is underneath it? Or was underneath it...?

It seems like a pretty strange place to put a bandaid... I mean, how much could happen to the forearm of a three year old? Yeah, granted - I wasn't exactly a careful three year old - but I'd be willing to wager there's no physical cut underneath the bandage.

Let me tell you where I'm going with this...

Have you ever noticed how many kids sport this look? Not the messy eating look - although most sport that too; the 'random bandaids littering their arms and legs' look. Often their reasoning behind needing a bandaid sounds a little something like this:

"Somebody pinched me" or "I scraped my arm" or "a pine needle poked me" ... and, of course, other times they just like the new Disney Princess Bandaids so they'll wear them as a fashion statement. Regardless, I'm fairly positive (and completely positive as far as my childhood is concerned) that bandaids are rarely applied to 'real' wounds. The bandaid is always the physical solution to the psychological 'problem'.

I just think it's so refreshing to see how kids think. They're profoundly simple. The way they see it, a bandaid heals wounds so as soon as the bandaid is on, their pain is as good as gone. A best friend can be found in a day and stick with you for a lifetime. A bully's a bully; the world's a playground; the sky's the limit; anything's possible with enough imagination!

I sometimes find myself missing all that - the simple outlooks on life.

Adulthood tries to complicate everything. There's no longer black and white, there are 'gray areas' and 'good' reasoning behind 'bad' behaviour. Bandaids aren't little miracles anymore; they no longer have enough power to make everything okay again. Imaginations are benched. Knowledge has a way of trumping wonder.

Ever been on a bus or subway or whatever and a mom comes in with a baby in a stroller? And the baby's just LOOKING at you and doesn't look away for a good, like, eight or nine minutes. The kid's just watching you, infinitely fascinated with you.

If a baby or toddler does that to me, I'm instantly drawn into their world. The rest of the patrons disappear and all I can do is invest in the kid's day. Usually all it takes is a smile or a funny face and they'll grin from ear to ear - clearly in love with you for that brief moment.

You never see two adult strangers interacting this way. If someone over the age of ten were to watch me unwaveringly all I'd be is creeped out. Kids though, they get away with it. I've never really been able to figure out why. Obvious innocence? Simplicity? I still don't know. But whatever it is, adults don't seem to have it. Which kinda sucks.

Yeah, I miss simple. I want to find it again...

Keep it real (and simple - it could be a nice change)!