I'm Thankful for Remembering the Innocence of Youth

As Thanksgiving nears, I realize that I have a lot to be thankful for. Over the past two weeks, I discovered what a beautiful thing it is to remember the innocence of youth. I am so thankful for that.

A little over a week ago, one of my first graders asked me how old I was. I told him my true age of 55. My first grader had a look of total misbelief and horror on his face as he exclaimed, "Fifty-five! That's almost dead!" I could choose to let vanity set in and be upset or realize that 55 is a long way from 6 or 7 in a first grader's mind.

This past Friday, I took a few first graders to the media center to return and take out books. Two twin girls who can whoop it up on the playground, but insist on mumbling ever so softly inside, checked their books out first. The volunteer at the counter had a hard time understanding them. They hung around the counter after they checked out their books. The next student to check out books was the twin of the boy mentioned in the above paragraph. He spoke out his ID number loud and clear. The volunteer praised him for doing so to send a message to the girls to do the same next time. She continued with, "I'm getting older now and it is sometimes difficult to hear." The whole time she was speaking, the boy was nodding his head ever so attentively. He sounded so grown up when he replied, "I understand. My grandmother has the same problem." As the volunteer is around my age, we had a good laugh.

Children can be such hilarious creatures. If we understand that the root of their logic is just plain youth, we can relax and enjoy their intents as innocent. Those innocent comments brighten up my day. How about yours? Happy Thanksgiving! Here's to many, many years of enjoying the innocence of youth!