The questions are in full swing around our house. Three seems to be the age when they begin to burst with the need to clarify the same piece of information over and over and over. Yes, there are some stereotypical, “Why is the sky blue?” type stuff, but also questioning why Grandma doesn’t live here or todays gem was why is water wet?…that was an interesting one to answer! Today I was washing up and E asked if she could help me and I said yes, can you bring me the dirty cups from the sitting room, E said no thank you, I will just sit and watch you. E normally loves helping mummy clean up but today she didn’t seem impressed with my reply. I suddenly realized that E still firmly believes that any question could unlock a thoroughly magical moment. So what if she had asked, “Mummy, can I help you?” and I had replied, “Sure! You wanna throw some glitter in the air and blow bubbles into the sink?” In her mind that really might happen. Later on she was in the garden throwing glitter on the lawn, I had to stop her and then asked why is she doing that, she merely answered ‘so that the fairies know how to find the fairy soup I am going to make them’, she said it in such a way as to say, why don’t you know this mummy. Now I kind of want to ask more questions myself and expect beautiful answers. I think the opportunities are out there. I just forget to ask, “Do you want to tell me about it?” or “How will that change who you are now?” While E will soon learn that the routine of the house and the laws of science are fixed and predictable, she will also learn that the lives of people will always be interesting and thought-provoking. I know that. I just need to ask more questions.
What a beautiful post. Isn’t it lovely sometimes when they say things and we suddenly see the world through a child’s eyes with all its magic still intact? What a shame we tend to lose that as we get older.