Kids Do the Darndest Things

Children think weirdly. I somtimes wish that we all thought so simply--life would be way less complicated. But as it is, we all grow up and lose our innocence, our naivity. We start to think about serious things like how to pay rent and buy groceries, making sure our car has been inspected, that we have health insurance, that tuition is paid on time. But sometimes I wish I could go back to being a kid--when ignorance was truly bliss. Sometimes. Then there are days like today when I am so thankful to have a little common sense.

I'm in Honduras visiting a friend of mine who is going to be a missionary here. One of the other missionary families here has four kids; one of them is seven years old and I think he's a few fries short of a Happy Meal if you know what I mean. Today at their house, he was running around flinging this goopy, sticky, dirty blob (which I think used to be some sort of identifiable figure) at the walls and watching it stick and then slowly peel off as gravity took its toll. I was sitting on the couch talking, when out of nowhere the goopy, sticky, dirty blob comes flying across the room and slaps me in the face. I laughed a little, thinking it had been an accident and handed it back to him, only to have him wind up and fling it at my face once again. After two or three of these gloppy beatings, I grabbed the blob and chucked it at the wall--hard--so that it was stuck just out of his reach. Take that you little tyke.

Later, we were getting ready to eat, and he had torn a piece of his styrofoam plate off accidently. He tried to give the piece to his mom, but she shook her head and told him to throw it away himself. He looked at her, looked at the piece, shrugged, and then proceeded to eat the styrofoam. Now, I didn't grow up with brothers, but I'm pretty sure this is typical 7 year old boy behavior. Better to eat it then walk across the room and do what you were told. (His mom pulled the piece out of his mouth and disposed of it--no worries) When I looked back at him a few seconds later, he'd torn off another piece and began chewing. Like I said earlier, a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

Yes, today I am very glad that I have enough common sense to not eat my styrofoam plate and throw globs of nastyness at other people's heads.