It takes more than luck

Last week I was in line for ice cream at the fair when I saw a pretty baby girl behind me. I briefly chatted with her mother who commented that she was lucky that the baby and her other child were good kids. We got our ice cream and parted ways.
Later on I wished I had told her that it wasn’t just luck that made her children so well behaved. It was evidence that she was a good mother. Children take their cues from the adults around them. If the parents are cranky and whining about having to wait in line then it is much more likely that the children will also be cranky.
On the other hand, if the parents are calm and patient then it is much more likely that the children will find something to occupy their time without whining or being destructive.
This won’t work if the children in question are tired or hungry or happen to be in the throes of the terrible twos. The terrible twos can strike at any age but I have a feeling that the mother in question will avoid the worst of the tantrums simply because of the way she was raising her kids.
You have no idea how much I wanted to cuddle her baby. My newest grandson is almost the same age as her daughter. I missed the heavy feeling of an infant on my chest. I knew if I had made a move towards the girl the woman would have thought I was a crazy child-napper or worse plus the child wouldn’t have taken well to being cuddled by a stranger, especially in that heat.
We parted ways and I am left wondering how it is that we have become so afraid of strangers that even someone as harmless as I would be seen as a threat. I am left wondering how a woman can attribute her children’s behavior to luck instead of taking credit for their good attitudes.
Later on a couple of stray children wandered over to the table where the other woodcarvers and I were sitting. I let them try their hands at carving. I made sure they wore the glove that protected them from errant knife cuts before I handed them a sharp knife and a block of wood.
They worked on a pig cutout for awhile, chatting the entire time. I was afraid they were going to chop off the pig’s face and I would have to redesign the animal. I watched them carefully to make sure they didn’t take home scars as a reminder of their carving experience. They finally grew tired of hacking at the pig and wandered off. I have no idea where their parents were or where they went after brushing the wood shavings off their clothes.
Later on I wandered around the grounds and talked to several people I knew. I made the mistake of suggesting to the local tourism director that I thought an art fair would be a good idea as there are so many talented artists around. She retaliated by asking if I wanted to organize one. I am not an organizer and I quickly backed away.
I picked up some fair food for supper and made my way home.
It is not the people I knew who made the biggest impression this year. It is not the cow who slobbered on me when I scratched its forehead that I remember the most. It wasn’t even the fair food that got me out of cooking supper. No, what goes through my mind is an image of a young woman who thinks that she is lucky because her children are well-behaved.
I want to tell her to have faith in herself. It takes much more than luck to have good kids. It takes good parenting. The world would be a better place if we had more people like that young mother who is raising her children with love.[[In-content Ad]]