Learning about trust.

Yesterday, I spent some time with some friends who have started their family and have a few children. Ages six, four and almost two. So, when the adults started to talk about their jobs, I went to play... uh, I mean practice my parental skills with the children.

The best part about being around other people's children is that when you're done pla-- practicing with them, you can hand them right back to the parents. There are so many things that they are learning that they must incorporate into their minds to understand this world as we know it. And it can be amazing what you can learn from them as they continue learning.

For instance, last night, I learned more about trust. Little children must trust you a lot before they permit you to get near them. They must trust you to let you pick them up and carry them. And most of all, they must trust you when you turn away from them.

Most importantly, I learned how tenuous the link formed by trust really is. I had to learn it the hard way too. I picked up the middle child during practice, a beautiful little girl with pigtails, and set her on the top of an upright piano. I turned around when I heard a crash (the eldest boy falling off the sofa onto the floor, no injuries and all noise) and when I turned back to her, she was crying. She wouldn't answer me when I asked her what was wrong. She was holding one hand in the other, so I thought I had jammed her finger when I turned around so quickly and stepped toward the boy on the floor.

When I brought her back to mommy (and ran into the kitchen to get an ice pack), it was discovered that I had scared her by turning so quickly and walking a step away from her. She was in a position where she had to trust that I would come back because she couldn't get down off that piano and was afraid I wouldn't come back. I felt about two inches tall after hearing that.

Won't I make a great dad someday? One little girl crying had me running around in circles like a headless chicken. It also made me wonder if I trust people or do I feel the same way that poor little girl does and just do a better job of hiding my fears. And I am beginning to wonder if I should pray that I don't have any female children because I can be so easily manipulated.