A True Gentleman

Recently at the park, the children have been playing something called the monster game or the bear game. It's pretty simple; one child is the bear or monster and goes roaring and chasing after the other children. From my point of view, it's a nice way for the kids to take some exercise and get the yells out while away from the classroom.

By the way, the park was resurfaced earlier this week with a truck-full of sand (seemingly insignificant detail).

Back to the game. One child yesterday quietly asked me to pretend to be the monster this time and to chase everyone. As I crouched down to pick her up, making my most dramatic monster sounds, a shower of sand came down on my head and went all through my clothes!

I was angry for a split second before I tracked the thought process of the sand dumper. He hadn't heard the girl ask me to be the monster. He was just filling his hat with the new sand when he saw this big guy grab his friend and start yelling like a freak. Without further thought, he came to the girl's aid in the most immediate and significant way he could, and for the rest of the day I was shaking sand out of my hair and clothes.

How I wish I were more like that boy. I'm not suggesting it's a good idea to pick fights or carry buckets of sand around just in case, but how many times do I see someone that I could give immediate help to, but don't? Maybe the guy sprawled awkwardly on the stairs outside the station needs help, but he might wake up and get mad if I approach him and I'll miss my train if I walk to the police box. Those tourists look lost, but what if I can't communicate with them? Or I might not know how to get where they want to go.

If the boy in the park with nothing more than a sand-filled hat,can stand up to a big monster, then surely I too can overcome some of my own apprehensions and inconveniences. We can learn a lot from children if we try, even from the things they do that initially irritate us. I've been putting together some more thoughts about how adults could benefit from being more child-like (not childish, mind you). I'll share them soon. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your stories or comments.