IF I HAD IT ALL OVER AGAIN with the kids in my life, I’d be a little crazier than I have been this trip. I’d take more risks … I’d make more misteaks … I’d learn how to skateboard … and I’d ride more roller-coasters.
I’d cancel more of my stuff … and do more of their stuff.
I’d cut back on lectures … and try listening instead.
I’d devote many more moments to
… jumping off sand-dunes
… tramping through long grass
… snorkelling in clear waters
… camping in the wop-wops
… cooking fish we’d caught over fires we’d lit
… and counting stars in an inky-black sky.
I wouldn’t bug them as much as I have this time around … and I’d hug them every chance I got.
I’d let them eat more icecreams and fewer carrots … and I’d ban Brussels sprouts forever.
I’d make up more silly songs … read more wacky books … play twice as much Lego … and grump half as much about untidy bedrooms or muddy shoes.
I’d throw away my lists of their sins … and catch them doing something right for a change.
I’d build self-esteem earlier … and return phonecalls later.
I’d stop seeing kids as an interruption … and treat them more as the main event!
Why?
Because, children are a bottomless well of love and fun and incredibly good feelings. And we boring old grown-ups need to drink from that well more often.
JOHN – GRAPEVINE’S FOUNDER & ‘BIG CHEESE’ – RECALLS THIS QUOTE: “PARENTING IS LIKE A ROLLER-COASTER. YOU CAN EITHER CLOSE YOUR EYES AND SCREAM EVERY TIME YOU HIT A BUMP – OR YOU CAN THROW UP YOUR HANDS AND ENJOY THE RIDE!”
