Slight delay in posting – I wrote this on Christmas Eve and haven’t got round to posting until now. Ironic in a way!
Someone recently reminded me to make sure I invested as much time as possible with my family this Christmas; to remember that they weren’t fiction.
That got me thinking.
So often are we, the guardians of young children in particular, so stressed out and exhausted from life in general that we forget that they aren’t in the same boat as us. They aren’t worried about the financial year coming to a close and the impending tax returns. They aren’t phased by the supermarkets being a literal interpretation of an apocalypse, just because the alcohol is slightly cheaper and the shops will be closed for a whole day. They aren’t even aware of concepts with far-reaching consequences like nuclear war, e-bola outbreaks, terror attacks, economic meltdown… and nor should they be.
As a test of this theory I asked my youngest daughter for her thoughts on Brexit… her face in response should have been captured for a new emoji. The “Dad, seriously, I’m 7” face it would be called, not that I imagine a great demand for such.
I’m not saying that the normal, everyday pressures of life should be ignored at all, but children should be insulated from them. Children should be introduced to the frightening realities of life piecemeal at the appropriate times, and at such young ages they shouldn’t even have the slightest inclination that growing up isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
That’s my understatement of the year; adulting sucks in many ways, which is why we’re allowed to buy alcohol.
(By the way, this is only a short insight into the convoluted world in my head – I’m getting an early bed before I spend every available hour of daylight teaching my kids to ride their new bikes.)
So forget the stress for a little time every day, after all it’s your stress and not theirs, take a moment to step out of your world and into theirs for a while.
I’ve found it’s a lot more enjoyable than the real world.
Eat too much, get tipsy once or twice, and enjoy yourselves.
(And if you find time, dive into a book!)
Wishing you a (belated) Merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous New Year
DCF, Mrs F and the Mini-Me’s