Happy Halloween faithful readers! Welcome to the
- INSTAGRAM FILTERS. Having a meh day? Feeling bad about yourself? Take a selfie and apply an Instagram filter. Nothing but blue skies ahead.
- There are no politics or other depressing crap in your Instagram feed.
I was going to make the list longer, but really those two reasons are good enough for me.
So now that we are all in agreement that this is the best place for The Little Things to live let's get on to the topic du jour - or the topic du month as it were (I took Spanish in high school, not French). This month I thought (much like I do every month) that I had absolutely nothing to say. And wouldn't you know it...on the last day of the month, at the eleventh hour, just as there was not going to be an October post it came to me.
Fear. Fear is the hot topic around this house these days.
First, today is Halloween, and Halloween is inherently scary right? Second, my little girl is entering the 'I'm-scared-of-absolutely-everything' stage in life. She is afraid of monsters, she is afraid of the dark, she is afraid to be in a room by herself, she is afraid of bears, wolves...name it. Third, there is Ebola. I don't feel like I really need to elaborate on that as we have all had quite enough of the "e" word for one month.
I have spent many hours in the past month assuring my daughter that there is no need to be afraid of ghosts and assuring my son there is no need to be afraid of Ebola (yes, unfortunately, my eight year old knows about Ebola...don't judge). Frankly, both of those things scare the hell out of me - but then again, I have always been a bit of a scardey cat. I realize this is nuts, but ever since watching the movie 'The Sixth Sense' I still take a running start to get into bed at night. I will not stand beside a bed in a dark room for fear that some poor little girl with dark circles under her eyes is going to grab me by the ankles. Truth.
*scary as hell*
So how are we, as parents supposed to assure our kids there is no need to be scared when we have fears of our own? I'm sure your fears look different than mine, but we all have them...don't we? As I was writing this post and thinking about all the things that one could possibly fear a crazily serendipitous (I spelled that word right on the first try) thing happened. A Jehovah Witness knocked on my front door. This is happening real time friends - this literally JUST HAPPENED as I was typing this post.
I opened the front door (seemed rude not to) for the woman who was holding a Bible and some pamphlets. Her first words to me were "Hello, I am here today to talk about what a scary place the world has become and to ask you if you think the world is getting better, getting worse, or staying the same." I see...multiple choice.
My response was "are you asking me?" to which she responded "yes". I didn't even have to pause before I said "I think it is getting better." She looked surprised and wanted to know why of course. Right about now I am thinking this was a pretty heavy conversation to have with a total stranger at my front door. But then, my response came so quickly and so easily that I was sure I couldn't be bullshitting. I said this:
"I believe in human enlightenment. I believe we are getting better with every passing generation. I believe that with every war, every senseless death and every wrong we witness we are learning that the only way we are all going to live together on this planet for generations to come is by treating other people with the grace and kindness we all deserve - by taking care of one another."
To which she replied "Oh." Then she asked me my name, thanked me for my time and asked me if I would keep a pamphlet. Sure I will I said - I held up two fingers in a peace sign and thanked her for stopping by. She was nice and was also sporting a super fancy suit which tells me she takes her work seriously. Well done Pauline (that was her name).
I am always amazed at what an interesting series of events life often is. I shut the door and said to myself - 'well, now I know how this blog post ends'. Despite the fact that I may still hold onto some childish fears I am not a child anymore. I am able to rationalize the things that scare me and frame them in a healthy way. So I guess that is my responsibility to my kids (who are not yet able to do this). Not to tell them that the world is a perfect place, or that there is never any need to be afraid, but rather to help ease the fears they do have with the reasoned mind of an adult.
Tonight I am going to enjoy a glass or two of spiked cider, put on my traditional witch's costume, hit a friend's haunted house and make this most of all this spooky fun. Then I am going to go upstairs alone and force myself to stand next to the bed in a dark room - because sure, we're all afraid of something...but I'm no scardey cat.
