February 23: From the Mouth's of Babes

My daughter was home sick with me for the second time in the past 3 weeks. Of course, when she's sick I inevitably get a 2-for-1 deal on kids as her brother is not about to go to daycare if his sister's staying home; not without a battle, at least. So, I caved in and they both spent a day at the Counsell Spa...or so the way the two of them usually see it. However, today, I was lucky enough to get an ear full of wisdom from my daughter that actually taught me a few things about myself. It began when she decided to share her observation of "if you eat slowly, you can save the taste of food." My initial reaction was "huh?". But, after she repeated it, it made sense. If you eat fast, you really don't get to enjoy the flavor of what you're eating, right? And then a light bulb went off atop my head and I seized this opportunity to get her perspective on some other things in life. I asked her how I could prevent myself from getting angry at silly things. She said "if you're angry, you can either hold your breath or count to ten or go dance." Translation: Distract yourself from the source of your anger. I asked how I can I stop worrying. She told me "to stop worrying, if somebody's about to do something bad, don't run, just walk and tell them not to do it. But if someone' falling, that's a reason to worry". Translation: Don't worry about the little things in life; save it for the big things. I asked how I can overcome my fears. She advised "If you're afraid of something, just keep saying I'm going to be fine, nothing's happened to me before." Translation: Think positive to conquer your fears. Finally, I asked about the key to happiness. She responded "If you don't like your job, make sure that you don't get hired and go find another job you like." Wow, that last one spoke volumes about my fine line between home and work. Translation: Stop complaining about your job, Dad, and do something about it. I said earlier that all of her wisdom taught me a few things about myself. Ready? Basically, I make simple things complex, I worry too much, I see the negative before the positive, and I may never find happiness as an employee. Translation: At age 7, my daughter has more wisdom than I've acquired in my 41 years.