Yesterday my son came home from school with a drawing of a turkey under a purple and blue sky. Underneath the picture he had written “I am thankful for my mom.” I was understandably touched and told him as much.
He shrugged nonchalantly and said, “We were supposed to draw a Thanksgiving picture and write what we were most thankful for so of course I said you. What else would I write?”
“Well,” I said slowly, “I didn’t know about the project ahead of time so I didn’t have any expectations but you could have written a number of different things. You could have said you were thankful for your toys or something.”
My son looked at me with an expression that hinted of shock and then suddenly collapsed into a fit of laughter. “Mom,” he gasped in between giggles, “nobody would write that they’re more thankful for their toys then they are for the people who they love!” And then he started laughing even harder because to him just articulating the idea was so incredibly silly.
There are a lot of grown-ups who have a hard time with the concept of putting people ahead of material possessions and yet a six-year-old boy finds the very idea of that level of materialism so absurd that it’s literally laughable. It got me thinking…at what point will my son realize that there are an enormous number of people in this world with seriously messed up values? Will it be something he slowly comes to terms with or will there be a sudden epiphany brought on by the thoughtless action of some idiot? I remember telling him about the story of my great-grandfather being kidnapped by the Russian army. My son looked at me in utter confusion and said, “But I thought armies were there to protect people.” That was one of those epiphany moments. He learned that day that sometimes governments don’t even try to do what’s best for the people. Sometimes it’s all about the leaders. Those are the lessons that I dread teaching my son. I have no hang-ups about talking to him about sex, drugs and all that stuff. That’s easy. But teaching him about some of the awful things people do to one another and the justifications they use (religion, and the like), that’s the stuff nightmares are made of.
But I don’t usually dwell on all that and I’m certainly not going to dwell on it during Thanksgiving. Instead I’m going to take a moment to send up my own message of thanks. I’m thankful for my friends, family, and of course for my writing career and all you wonderful readers. But above all else I’m thankful that I have a son who constantly reminds me of what’s important in life. To say that I love him with all my heart is an enormous understatement.
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Kyra Davis
http://www.kyradavis.com/
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!
7 comments:
Outside my son's first grade classroom are fifteen Thanksgiving essays all offering a variation on "I am thankful for my family."
The cynic in me thinks kids by six/seven (heck, three) know what's expected of them and regurgitate accordingly.
I'm not saying they don't love us and all, but...
Alina Adams
http://www.AlinaAdams.com
Awww...sounds like you have a sweet son. Happy Thanksgiving, Kyra! So neat I found your blog!
Too sweet! Kids are just the best gifts given to us, even when they are driving us crazy.
It's 12:45 a.m. Central time and I just finished Sex, Murder. I LOVED IT! Thank you for writing such an entertaining book. I look forward to reading the next one.
Welcome Dorothy!
Shoegirl: I'm so glad you enjoyed SMDL! I still can’t believe it when anyone thanks me for writing it. You know you have a lot to be thankful for when people thank you for doing something you love!
Yes, my son is a sweetie and I totally adore him.
Of course it wouldn’t surprise me if his teacher said something along the lines of “Thanksgiving is a time that we remind ourselves of what we have to be thankful for, like our family and friends,” thus subtly coaching the children on what to write. However despite the fact that I loved the message on the picture it was my son’s reaction to my suggestion that some people might be primarily thankful for material possessions that made a major impression on me. The idea seemed so ludicrous to him that he figured I had to be joking.
Ohhh...your son is a doll! My nine-year old sister and step-daughters surprise me everyday with what they say. I just received SMDL and can't wait to start reading it...I've heard so many great things about it!
Your son, without doubt, is one of the great kids in this world!
Thank you Priscilla and Bernita! I think my son's pretty great too (of course I'm a tad bit biased). One of the wonderful things about kids is the way they make you step back and look at the world through different eyes.
Priscilla, thank you for buying my book! I hope it lives up to your expectations!
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