Thursday, October 7, 2010

Four

Four year old's are great.  

They just tell you what they see.  "Hey Big Daddy do you wish you were skinny?"  They repeat in public the bad things they hear you say in the confines of the mini-van when somebody cuts you off in traffic.  "Dag-gum-it!"  They love unconditionally.  They will hug you for no reason.  They forget they were just in time out.  Just be careful when you tell them they cannot have a real puppy.  They remember that one for a while.  I think it took one of Big Daddy's double stuffed Oreo's to get by the real puppy episode.      

They have no limitations.  They can do anything.  They can fly.  Do not believe me, just clip a hand towel to the back of their shirt.  They can swim across the ocean.  Just have them puff out their cheeks and swing their arms.  They can walk on the moon.  Tell them to walk slowly in big steps.  One of the funniest thing you will see is a four year old trying to walk in slow motion.  Short legs, short arms, over-sized head, walking with big eyes, real slow...HA!  They can be a talking dog, an artist, a doctor, a fairy, a singing mermaid, a zookeeper, a writer, a waitress, a mother, a father, on and on.  

My four year old told my wife one night:
"You know what my cat wants?"  
No, what does your cat want?  
"Some water."  
How do you know your cat wants water?  
"I talk cat."  
You do?  
"Yeah see...'meow-meow'.
 
Their imagination is their only limitation.  No wonder they are so fun to be around.  

What can we learn from a four year old?  Our imaginations may be rusty but they still work.  We can still pretend too.  Just the other night I was a one passenger commercial airliner; carried the kids one at a time on my back.  Flew them around the world (through the living room, kitchen, dining room) a few times.  We hit some turbulence (my knee gave out) once or twice before dropping them off at Disney World (on their bed).  Even at our age we can still dream.  Give it a whirl, you will see...'meow-meow'.

2 comments:

Dave (aka Buckskins Rule) said...

Enjoy these days, Kipp, they pass all too quickly. My youngest is 16, and I'm certain that the airplane gig would get me a few odd looks, at best. Not to mention that both knees, ankles, and my back would probably give out...

I was one of those kids with a super active imagination, and could entertain myself for hours.

I sometimes wonder what happened to that young boy.

Kipp said...

I appreciate the advice. My oldest said the other day, "I will be 13 in 5 years." I thought as fast as 5 years goes by...I wish I could slow down time.

That imaginative young boy; he is just taking a nap. Wake him up.