I have 3 children. The oldest is five and he typically hits his quota of 300+ questions a day, most of which are very similar to the “school” question. Almost daily, I find myself struggling to find an adequate answer to his questions… The “patent” answers seem so empty as the words are formed and ready to come out of my mouth… …and yet, the more he asks (the more the patience wanes), and everything within me wants to give the ‘patent - dead-end’ answer that will give me some reprieve…. (horrible I know!)
The operative word there was “wants”…. There are those moments where I restrain that urge and dive into the spiral of questions with him, trying to discover something new…. Trying to inspire hunger for learning…. and the awe of discovery…. and the open-endedness of life - so that “we” keep searching together….
The last thing I want is to cripple any of these things with my selfish-had-enough-of-the-questions-here’s-my- lousy-dead-end-answer!
As Picasso said,
“Every child is an artist.
The problem is how to remain an artist
once he grows up.”
The problem is how to remain an artist
once he grows up.”
Hopefully as those who instruct, model and parent we will be given enough grace to cultivate the “artist” within our children, and rediscover it ourselves.
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