like father, like son

or sort of.  the other morning when john gave max a section of the new york times to look at, i thought there was going to be the typical scene in which max pretended to read the paper just like his dad was doing across the table from him.  i should have had more faith.

after assessing the situation, and realizing how boring the newspaper was, max hopped off his chair and started peeling the pages apart, one by one.  he laid them out, neatly on the floor and yelled for his dad to watch as he jumped from one to the next, one leg in the air.  and that was the magical moment, as i watched max muss up and turn the business page of the new york times into a hopscotch court.  awesome.

what i should’ve told max is that i find the newspaper similarly out of touch with my reality.  and while i enjoy reading about libya and yemen and wisconsin, and draw inspiration for my own acts of rebellion from those stories, it was also inspiring to see max make such an illustrious paper into something more relevant to his world.  and i couldnt help wondering what that very same paper would look like if we paid more attention to the kids around us and inside us.

i feel lucky to live in a world painted and dreamed up by kids: it’s more joyful, more wonder-full and certainly more magical.  we laugh a lot, and say hi to everyone we see–human and non human–we prioritize playing and exploring.  sure there are fights and sadnesses too, but there’s also honesty.  like weeks ago now, when my faerie goddess son jordan walked up to his cousin and, out of nowhere said, “i love you isabelle.”  and without missing a beat, isabelle said without mean-ness, “then why did you just shut my hand in the computer?”  i am encouraged by the kids in my life and learn from them how it is i want to dance in this world.

there will be tons more little stories like this.  and i will share them as i’m inspired to.  basically, kids rock.  and i want to honor them and appreciate them often.