Every parent knows that one of the best things about kids is that they help you see the world through new eyes.
As adults, things like clouds, birds or bugs become mundane to us, but they can occupy hours at a time for the curious eyes of children.
In the car yesterday, my daughter asked me a great question:
I’ve spent a lot of time in my life pondering things, but I’ve never asked myself this question.
We spent the next 20 minutes trying to come up with as many things as we could that we are glad there are at least 30 of:
- Types of animals
- Colors that make our world beautiful
- People who love other people
- Kinds of flowers
- Types of creatures living in the sea
- Flavors of ice cream
- Days in the summer
- Cities to visit
- Colors of nail polish
- Kids in school
- Types of jobs
- Breeds of dogs
- People who love me
This conversation gave us both an appreciation for the variety and differences that benefit our lives.
What would life be like with only one breed of dog? We wouldn’t experience the joy that both tiny and gigantic dogs bring to our lives.
What would life be like if everything was beige? There would no green trees or red flowers. It felt depressing to imagine a world without color or with just one color.
In this short twenty minute conversation, we learned how much we value diversity and surprise. We had a fresh gratitude for the varied experiences that life provides us every day.
The conversation naturally turned to things that we were GLAD there were not more than 30 of:
- Spiders in our bed
- Mean kids in our neighborhood
- Sick people in our family
And my favorite:
Me. She was very, very happy that there is only one person who is just like me. And I’m grateful that there is only one her.
This one seemingly odd question has prompted us to be more observant of the diversity in our world.
How many different cities can we visit?
How many types of bugs and animals are in our yard right now?
Can we list the different kinds of pets that live in our neighborhood?
What colors can we see in the sky at noon versus at 6pm?
When we close our eyes and listen, how many sounds can we hear? What is the closest sound? What is the farthest?
What is one thing that we can notice on the drive home from school that we’ve never noticed before?
We have become more aware of the vast variety of gifts the world provides us with, as well those “once in a lifetime” moments and “once in a lifetime” people.
So, I turn the question to you. What are things that you’re glad that there are at least thirty of?
Share your feedback in the comments below or on Facebook.