It’s All About Me

Yesterday I spent some time with Alexander, who is 3 years old. I don’t spend much time with kids normally, so I was unprepared for the raw energy he puts into whatever he does. There were no hesitation, no fear, just a frontal attack on life.

Equally impressive was Alexander’s mother. Even as Alexander smashed his nose into a heavy iron gate, and he started crying as if the world was about to end, she remained cool and made sure he got the attention he needed.

To me, this seems to be the biggest challenge of parenthood - how can you avoid worrying too much, when you know how dangerous the world is to a kid growing up?

I guess you just have to accept that these are lessons for life - painful, but useful. (And since the day I smashed my own head open on an iron gate when I was five, I’ve been quite good at avoiding them.)