Childhood Enthusiasm

Connor has a bit of a sock fetish. He loves socks. He won't be without them. If I let him, he'd probably wear them in the bathtub too. When I put him to bed he insists on wearing socks so his feet don't get "
"scratchy".
He's really quite the opposite of me and the girls because none of us are really big on socks and are usually barefoot until it's time to go out.

But - because Connor is so adamant about wearing socks all. the. time. I buy the expensive ones. I want ones that will last and be durable.  Most of his socks have the no slip bottoms on them too which is great because we have all wood floors.

Last night Connor picked out a pair of dollar store socks from his drawer. They were Christmas ones that he got in his stocking. Being from the dollar store they are cheaply made and don't have the no slip bottoms.

It is at this point that I noticed something about my child (and all children when I come to think about it)

Connor went to his room to get something and wiped out 4 times in the hallway because he was running to his room and slipped.  It was like that all day. Connor was slipping and sliding all over the floor and it wasn't just because of the socks it was because he doesn't walk. Ever. He runs everywhere he goes.

And I got to thinking back to when Mary was younger (though she's still very much the same) and Emily when she was younger and to every child I've cared for in the past 15 years.....

kids don't walk when they are going from A to B. They run.

Are they running because their legs are short and they need to keep up?
Are they running because they need to hurry?

No, they are running because when you're a kid the world is such an awesome, fantastic, exciting place that they just can't wait to greet every minute life. They are overwhelmed with awe and even the most mundane things like going to the bathroom or picking out socks needs to be rushed to because the faster you get there the faster you can experience it and move on to something else.

And it makes me sad too to think about when this stops.

Emily doesn't run anymore. She drags herself from A to B. She's lost that zest for life that forces her to run into it head on.
And most adults have too.

I'm reminded of the episode of Friends in which Phoebe decides to take up jogging with Rachel and when they go out for the first time together Rachel is embarrassed because Phoebe runs quite chaotically, like a child, with her arms flailing and with no rhythm.  Phoebe asks Rachel why she's never tried running like a child, it should be something fun. Rachel tries it and discovers that running that way is much more fun.

Make it your mission sometime this week to run like a child. Don't worry about looking foolish. Just greet the world with the enthusiasm of youth. We spend too much time being serious and losing track of the awesomeness of our very existence (that's right, I said awesomeness).

I'm going to go out and have a snowball fight.