Our son, Colby, is 9 years old, and mature on many fronts. Just this past week, we had some moments in which he really began seeing the world through his “big kid eyes”, as Jerry Spinelli so aptly puts it….
“Big-kid eyes replace little-kid eyes. Little-kid eyes are scoopers. They just scoop up everything they see and swallow it whole, no questions asked. Big-kid eyes are picky. They notice things that little-kid eyes never bothered with: the way a teacher blows her nose, the way a kid dresses or pronounces a word.”
As a 3rd grade teacher, I have read those words at least a dozen times when I’ve read aloud the book “Loser” to my class. Third grade is the cusp year for many things, and it seems many children lose the little-kid eyes in this year of elementary school.
On Tuesday evening, as we lay in the dark of his bedroom, Colby asked for real clarity on the subject of Santa. Asking for truth, I certainly wasn’t going to deny him this time. He brought it up in December, literally days before Christmas, and I simply couldn’t let him have a perfectly anti-climactic holiday. And so, we chatted honestly about it being a world tradition that parents carry out. I explained that the joy won’t be any less simply because he knows the givers of the gifts. He agreed, and we both affirmed it was never about Santa anyway.
Then, almost 24 hours later, on Wednesday night at bedtime, he probed about the Tooth Fairy. He laughed out loud thinking about his dad sneaking into his room to swap out the tooth for some coins. We prayed, said “Good Night”, and I left feeling lighter, and I know he did as well.
Finally, come Thursday evening, I overheard Colby and Dad chatting about the Easter Bunny. It was the inevitable conversation still to come.
He reported back to me about that chat during our bedtime routine.
All in all, the conversations were more sweet than bitter— even endearing. To be able to speak very openly and honestly about these childhood experiences was of great comfort to me. I am sure the questions were brewing for some time for him, but they were discussed in such rapid succession, it was like subsequent games of Ring-Around-the-Rosie. These non-truths no longer made sense to him, nor could he any longer just accept them and so, they all fell down.
Perhaps what this new era means is that Colby is making room for truth in his life—for belief in things that are not so flimsy. I can only pray that his mind always searches for wisdom, and that he follows his first instinct of asking Mom or Dad for guidance. I know our conversations will eventually grow to contain matters with a bit more weight and complexity.
Mostly, my prayer is that his greatest belief, one that has already taken root, continues to flourish.
May he know that God is good, desires a relationship with him, and has a plan for his life.
May he recognize Jesus as the only true source of hope in the world- a world which will try to convince him otherwise.
May he also grow in wisdom enough to call out any falsehoods or lies for what they are and please, Lord, may they all fall down. 🙏
