Help Me! Make It Stop! I'm Being Subjected to...

A B Grade Form of Torture!


As I write this post, I am sitting here with my daughter watching the cartoon "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic." It is certainly not a 5 star production. Heck, I don't think I'd even give it two stars. Yet, for some reason, Serenity enjoys it and has been watching it a LOT lately. By default, that means that I've been watching it a lot lately. Yeah for me! NOT! I keep thinking that the time I'm sitting here watching this show will be time in my life that I'll never be able to get back.


Have you ever noticed how as parents, we are often subjected to things that would certainly not be on the top of our lists? Yet, we take part in them because they're important to our kids. Such is the case with this show. I don't have any love loss for this cartoon but I readily watch it with my daughter because it is important to her. As much as I dislike this show, I love my daughter much more. So, I willing share it with her.


Is that not the story of a parent's love for their children? As parents, we often give up of ourselves for our children. As I believe we should. If our primary concerns are for our wants and needs then we probably shouldn't be in the parenting business. Our instincts should be to put our kids first. That doesn't necessarily mean that we should always do what they want at the expense of what we want. It does mean however, that our actions towards our kids should be directed by our love for them and our desire to put them above ourselves.


Experience has taught me that it's not necessarily "what" things I'm sharing with my kids that's important. It's "who" I'm sharing them with that really matters. Recognizing this has made parenting a lot more enjoyable for me. Even in what would otherwise be dull moments, I am able to find joy because I am sharing those moments with my kids. For example, hearing my daughter giggle after a silly line or watching her recreate something she's seen in this show, have all of a sudden made me LOVE this show! If I sit back and really observe her, I can see the show through her eyes instead of my old, cranky, and boring, adult eyes. Through her, I am able to capture the magic. I have come to realize that the magic isn't in the show. The magic is in her! She is the magic!


Have you captured magic with your kids lately? Have you slowed down long enough to see the world through their eyes? If you haven't, I highly recommend it! It not only gives them the incredible gift of sharing things with you, it also gives you the incredible gift of being a kid again through them.


As adults, we're often times too serious. Sometimes, we just need to let our hair down, stop over analyzing things, and look at the world through the eyes of our kids. I believe we'd all be more happy if we did. Most times, our kids are able to capture magic because the magic lives within them. If we come to realize that, the things we do with our kids will come to gain a great deal of appreciation from us. After all, who says that through our kids, we can't capture some magic too?