That being said, I want to share with you something else of
importance—something I learned from my eight year-old granddaughter, Mackenzie,
earlier today…
She was waiting her turn to go ‘tubing’ behind the boat, but
was a bit apprehensive about doing so. She’d already gone earlier in the day
with her daddy, but since Daddy wasn’t in the boat, she wasn’t so sure. When my
daughter in-law (Mack’s mom) and I asked her if she was going, she said, “No, I’m
too scared. I’m scared to death to go.”
We told her it was okay to be scared AND that it was okay if
she didn’t want to do it again. She thought about it a little while, decided to
give it another try, and enjoyed it.
At this point you probably think I’m going to tie this in to
overcoming your fears or helping your children overcome theirs, don’t you? Well
I’m not. Instead I’m going to say, “Thank you” to Mack for reminding me that
sometimes it is okay to be afraid and that we should never feel like we have to
make up excuses for why we don’t want to do something. That’s right! It’s okay
to just say, “I don’t want to because I am afraid.”
When I was her age I wouldn’t have been brave enough to just
admit I was afraid. And yes, it takes a lot of guts to do that. Sometimes I don’t
know if I’m still brave enough to do that. So thanks, Mackenzie, for teaching
Nanna an important lesson today.
I also want it to be a lesson to you, as well—a lesson that reminds
you to make it comfortable and acceptable for your kids to admit their fears
without having even an inkling of doubt about the fact that they won’t be made
fun of or belittled for being…afraid.
Everyone’s afraid of something…or several something’s. So
who are we to judge whether a person’s fears are justifiable or not? And when
it comes to your children, most of the time, time is all that is necessary for
these things to take care of themselves. But even if they don’t, is it really
that big of a deal? Do you love them any less? I didn’t think so.
Love,
Momma D