Thursday, October 8, 2009

A Different Perspective

Last week the four of us went out for dinner. As we were leaving, Noah yanked his hand out of mine and bolted toward the busy parking lot. I grabbed his wrist just in time, and then proceeded to lecture him with the, "How many times have I told you..." kind of things. Of course I'm grateful that nothing happened, but I still felt frustrated and angry. Since that adrenaline was pumping I had Mark take things over. He asked Noah why he did that, and Noah said it was because he saw a piece of candy in the parking lot. So, Mark went on to explain why we can't run out into a parking lot or street, how especially at night cars can't see someone little like him, what would happen if a car hit him, etc. etc. etc. Finally, to be sure that Noah had understood their little conversation, Mark asked Noah, "So, Noah - why was it that mom got angry?" There was a long, thoughtful pause and then Noah responded with full sincerity, "Because she didn't see the candy".

Aaaah, the perspective & priorities of a three year old.

6 comments:

Vickie said...

Love it! Maybe we need to look for the candy more often!

Mark, Holly and Boys said...

Yeah - as long as we don't get mowed down in the process, right? :)

David/Dad/Doc said...

Great story. Gotta love the simplicity of kids.

Mr. Christopher said...

My favorite post so far.

When my little brother was 3 he would run toward the street and laugh, because he wanted us to chase him.

Leslie said...

That's a great response. I love how their little minds think.

kathy w. said...

I wish I could climb inside little kids' brains and take a look around to see how things are connecting. Sometimes, they pick up on so much more than they seem capable of. And other times, well...