The other day we were driving up to the mall & we were on a street that was lined on both sides by trees. The leaves on every tree had turned a really vibrant red so I pointed them out to Max, commenting on how pretty they were. He got so excited and said, 'Wow! I think some people painted those!' Before he could even say anything else, I informed him about Fall and how leaves change color before they fall off the tree. He sort of gave me a dissinterested 'Oh.' and went back to looking out the window. I realized at that moment what a mistake I'd made. He was fascinated by what he'd seen and had probably started to wonder how those people would paint all those leaves. I can only imagine the scene his mind was putting together and I so wished I could peek in there & experience his wonder with him. I tried asking him more about the people who painted the leaves, but he just told me that people didn't paint them. Regret immediately rushed over me as I realized what had happened. I let information trump imagination. Sure, there's a time to teach your kids, but it doesn't have to be so immediate. Why didn't I let him live in that wonderful imaginary world for a little while? What was my rush to "educate"? And it's too bad...I sure would like to know about those leaf-painting people, but I'm afraid they may now be extinct.
Stop.
Listen.
Delight.
A good reminder. Thanks for the lesson, Max.
1 comment:
No... I think Max has been doing more thinking about "leaf painters"because he informed Sandy and me that if we looked up we could see that GOD had been busy painting leaves. This is while we were walking and she and I commented on the beautiful colors.
Sorry Marin.. forgot to tell you this when we got back from our walk.
Max's AMA
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