6 - Kids

You should notice the bad guy in the stomach of our vampire dog.

I was sitting in church when a the little boy of a family that I am familiar with in the community wandered into class. I knew that his Dad was away in Florida tending to his Father who would most likely pass away in the next couple of days. He looked sad as he surveyed the room and seemed to remember that his Dad would not be there. I caught his eye and motioned to the seat next to me. He came over and took a seat next to me and settled in. I asked Sam why he was here and not with his friends in class. This sweet little five-year-old proceeded to tell me that his friend had made fun of him in the bathroom and he didn't want to go back to class. I told him that it was okay if he wanted to stay here with me.

We spent the next 40 minutes or so drawing in my sketch book. He drew us both with bows and "Robin Hood hats" and a vampire dog that eats the bad guys whole. I turned to take my pack of gum from a 1-year-old that had wandered over and when I looked back, Sam was drawing on a new page of my sketchbook. There were two stick figures with about 10 hearts floating above them. 

"This is you and me. We love each other." he said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. 

"That's kind of weird," I say, not sure how to respond.

"No It's not, because you and me are family!" I felt like I could cry. "I already miss my Dad. He is in Florida because Grandpa is dying. He will probably stay there until Grandpa is in the ground, all dead." I put my arm around him. Once again I was speechless. I continue to listen to the instructor as he talks about the trials of life. 

"We deal with a lot of crap in this life," the instructor says. To which Sam pipes up in his loudest voice: "Crap is a bad word!" I knew then and there that I was so grateful for Kids.

I am grateful that they aren't afraid to stand up for what they know is right. I am grateful that they talk openly and freely about their feelings. I am grateful that I had the chance to commit to being a better person because of the example I saw from 5-year-old Sam.

He made sure to draw us in a house to show that we are a family. Also it seemed fitting that Baby Jesus would be there in the bottom left-hand corner.