“They didn’t see me when I was quiet.”
That’s what my five-year old said.
I picked him up from school and as usual,
asked him how his day went.
I often ask him what he did during the day.
“I got my name put on the board for talking.” he said.
If your name is on the board, you can’t play during recess. You can’t go on the swings, the slide, or play any of the sports. If your name’s on the board, you are grounded.
“I got my name on the board, but they didn’t see me when I was quiet so I couldn’t get it off.”
Remember the last speeding ticket that you got?
They didn’t see you when you were going slower and traveling at a reasonable speed. Down the hill in a hurry and here come the blue lights.
They didn’t see you when you were quiet!
The boss catches you just when you doze for a second ( well maybe longer than a second) after diligiently working all day.
The didn’t see you when you were quiet.
Your wife catches your eyes wandering as you admire the architecture of an elegan building that just happens to have a shapely female in front of it.
They didn’t see you when you were quiet.
Why doesn’t the world take into account all of the times that you were quiet?
Why do you suffer so long for a monent’s indiscretion?
How can a few minutes take an eternity to make up for?
Because of one of life’s simple principles, it’s a lot easier and faster to mess up than to clean up.
Harsh words uttered in five seconds can damage a relationship for five years.
All of us are still in shcool. We still have teachers. We still pass or fail tests. There are still paddles in one form or another and there is still the board.
With many of the things in our lives, we simply need to slow down and be quiet. That way we son’t miss playtime.
THANKS Marion…how eloquent…and how sad! What are we doing to our children, in a world where stress starts in kindergarten?