Francis Gay
It was Caroline’s son Connor’s 10th birthday recently. He had gifts and cards galore, generally having a great time with family and friends.
But there was also a card, and a gift voucher, from a stranger. Well...he lives in the neighbourhood, but Caroline doesn’t really know him. Connor, on the other hand...
The note in the card explained that the “stranger” walked past their front window most days on his way to and from work. And Connor, whenever he was around, would wave to him – sometimes knocking on the glass to get his attention – and he would wave back. He said that work wasn’t always great and sometimes those cheery waves were the best part of his day. So, he wanted to say a little thank-you.
Children, I think, perhaps more than many adults, understand the value of connection and kindness. Happy birthday, Connor, and, well done!
I’d been properly drenched while walking the dog. Heading home, I was not feeling my happiest.
Then the air was rent with shrieks of delight. A class of seven-year-olds tumbled through the school gates into a field where a mini “tough mudder” course had been set up.
Dressed in their old clothes and wellington boots, they ran through the wet grass, scrambled over bales of hay, high-stepped from tyre to tyre, walked planks and crawled under camouflage nets. No one was trying to win, they were all just having good, muddy, fun!
It occurred to me that the very thing I was grumbling about – the rain – was an essential ingredient in their happiness. Life, it’s all about how we look at it, and there is no such thing as a bad day when we approach it with the enthusiasm of an excited seven-year-old running towards a puddle.
She’d mentioned before that this “friend” was often hurtful. Now she told me they’d been doing something nice together.
“But, why are you even talking to her,” I asked, “given the things she’s said to you in the past?”
“Well...you know...she doesn’t have a happy family life. So, she treats others like she has been treated. And makes people hate her in case they get too close and see how sad she is.
“I won’t let her take advantage of me, but I’m not going to give up on her either.”
Sad? Remind you of anyone? Would you be as understanding, as kind?
Then she stepped gracefully off the school playground balance-beam, said goodbye, and headed to class. She and her friend are eight years old. Childhood isn’t usually plain sailing, and the children experiencing it can teach us so much, if we take the time to listen.