A dear friend and I were 'solving the world's problems' this morning at work. I began recounting a story about my youngest child and my friend said, "He's the cool kid on the block." The more I thought about her statement, the more I began to see exactly what she meant. Sure, my youngest child is an active, outgoing, never-met-a-stranger type of individual. But key in on the last word of my previous sentence: INDIVIDUAL. My child is the epitome of what we all should strive to be in this world - an individual.
My youngest child is warm, funny, quirky, yet seems not to have a care in the world. Truth be told though, that child is always listening (even when I think he isn't) and taking it all in. Then, at just the right moment (for him, not always for the rest of us), he asks the 'burning questions' that have been on his mind when you least thought he was paying attention. If you really listen to those questions and don't brush them off as the ramblings of a free-spirited kid, you'll see a sense of wonder, thoughtfulness, and tenderness you might have missed.
While I may not always have the right amount of patience for such an active soul, I appreciate that sweet child more and more each day. He's got a good heart, he's friendly, he's kind, and he is his own person. That, my friends, makes him pretty darn special in my book. Because if we all spent a little more time being our own true selves and quit worrying about everyone else, we'd all be The Cool Kids on the Block, too.
