Personality Traits

This evening my son gave me a smile that was one of the cutest things I had ever seen. It is hard to predict the future with children but that child has personality. I do not. I won’t be able to help him with that, but I can tell you from not having a personality that having one would be much better and if he keeps that smile he is going to charm people by the dozens.

Being a parent is an interesting thing. It is strange to think that not that long ago I had given up on ever being a parent and wasn’t certain that I would want to be one. Now that I am one I wouldn’t give it up for anything. I am calling it a night earlier than usual tonight and I can hear my children playing upstairs and I want to join them.

They are funny little creatures. It is impossible to get upset at such funny little creature. My other son, while not smiling as brightly, has his own funny little personality traits. He is now walking around the room and throwing helicopters behind him and yelling copter or finding stuffed birds and throwing them up in the air and yelling fly. It is fun to watch them grow and learn.

That is what we are as parents. We are watchers. Our role isn’t to interfere but to guide. We aren’t the overseers of our children. We cannot aid burden to their life. We must ease the burden of their life. We can set paths but if they chose not to take those paths we cannot be upset. Our silly little creatures are their own silly little creatures and that doesn’t start when they get older it starts as soon as they are born.

I know I will get criticized for my hands off approach to parenting. I saw someone post the other day about how God gave us our children and the immediate thought that came to my mind was my penis gave me mine. I have stated before that I am a Christian but I do not believe in that version of God. I don’t think God cares enough about me to personally give me children, and if he did I think he’d prefer I not use that as an excuse to keep them in ignorance.

The argument could be made that the second covenant with Jesus is God’s permission for man to posses knowledge. That argument would take longer than we have left and I would need to re-read at least the gospel of John to make it, but I will tell you that I value knowledge and I want my children to value knowledge and if knowledge makes some in our community uncomfortable then I’m good with it. My children will be happy and healthy and grow up to be the best they can be, and for that to happen it requires as little interference as possible.