Cherish

Through the eyes of a child, the world is simple. Their days are spent absorbing and learning, and their playtime and imagination are all they need to carry life in sheer delight. They bask in the love and encouragement of their parents and need no more than small reminders that they are important before they are easily satisfied and skip away in laughter to the next adventure. 

As mothers and fathers we encourage, love and laugh over their little ditties and hilarious antics. And yet we don't consider beyond the love of providing for them to see the enormous impact and importance of their esteem for us. For almost immediately after sending them off to school we transition into the adult world, having left the mantle of parenthood upon the front step, our attention becoming focused and centered on the pursuit of definition and fulfillment from the society around us.

And it remains there, always nagging at the edges of our identity, slowly distorting the truth of our place and our worth. And unconsciously we discard the purest source of reflection for who we are, trading fractions of it for the flimsy regard of adults who may not ever count for more than mere acquaintances. And the balance of our attention and priorities could thereby begin to shift if recognition of the cherished gift we already possess is not met.

For there is no greater esteem than that given to us by our children. They are little ones entrusted to us with the wish and the blessings that we as parents will nurture them to become adults within their own right. To lay their measure of love and respect for us as less than, simply because they are naive and young in the now, sorely undermines their potential and value as the adults they will grow to be.

It is our children who remind us that we are perfect just as we are. They hold and exercise the blissful secret to life which views the world with no concern for color, income, position or nationality. They do not measure substance or waist size. They simply revel in the love from their parents, are quick to forgive and just immediately as generous with their delicious cascades of giggles and sparkling eyes. The clasp of little hands held within ours brings them peace and serenity. For we are their parents. We are everything.

And so we are. And have been. From all the way back when our stubby little hands were lost in the firm guidance and grip of our parents. Way back when the loss of our first tooth and the tears from a skinned knee were easily comforted by the kisses and band-aids we now bestow upon ours. We never changed from perfection or worth. We simply aged.

All we need to remind ourselves of our identity is to reconnect with the wisdom of childhood and the reflection of ourselves as we see it within their eyes. And on a higher plane, be equally aware of their reflection shone back from the depths of our adult eyes. Their eyes remind us of who we are as our eyes give them the respect and vision of what they will be.

 

Adult and child, separate yet the same. Cherished.

- This Carman Girl