''Send someone to fetch a child of five.''

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.
Groucho Marx quotes


One of things that’s best about getting out of your native country and living somewhere else for awhile is that you learn just how alike we humans are.

I’m forever telling my Viking Princess how I love to watch the kids here in the winter. They dress them up in snowsuits that not only keep them warm, but also allow them to roll in snow, mud, grass, you name it. The kids are outside every day, except in the pouring rain.

The amusing thing is the little ones all look like small penguins in these suits when they walk. The day care attendants put little reflective vests on them and line them up and off they walk, waddling with arms sticking straight out.

Another worldwide connection is that kids cannot stop themselves from experimenting with the texture of water or snow.
Rain puddles must be touched, walked through, jumped into or have things floated on. Snow cannot be passed by without being picked up, packed into a ball and thrown, tasted, fallen down on or climbed on when piled. The adults in charge of these small people here in Sweden are very patient with these experiments. Even if time is pressing, they calmly stand by, gently urging the child to come along. But you don’t see the grabbing of arms and the admonitions there is no time for this now. My dad used to say that if you don’t have time for something now, when will you make time later? The other morning I watched a young lad disconnect from his mother’s hand and begin his assault on the hill of snow created by the plow clearing the walks. He would climb, get almost to the top and slide back down to the bottom. On the fourth attempt, with mom patiently watching, he made it to the top. Mom then said it’s time to move on. The kid gets his balance on the summit, stands and then beats his chest Tarzan-style. He then slides down the other side and runs to catch up to his mom. It was a laugh out loud moment.

I’ve always enjoyed being around kids. Jonathan, my reading buddy, just turned five. He is a dynamo of constant movement. He goes and goes until he drops. Except for the fact he speaks another language, he is exactly like every five year old I’ve ever met, including the two I helped raise.

Put five year olds from different parts of the world together and they will soon get along with each speaking a language the other cannot understand.

We need to realize that with all the inflexibility going on in the world about tribal, religious and ethnic distinctions we have more in common with each other than we differ.

We all want the same things from life. We all want security, freedom from oppression and the opportunity to provide for our families and ourselves. We need to begin think about that more.

What causes us to lose that ability to play together?

What guides us is children's response, their joy in learning to dance, to sing, to live together. It should be a guide to the whole world.
-Yehudi Menuhin