I’ve learned a lot of things over the past 16 months but recently one thing has stuck out.
Tommy now knows how to say hi and bye when it’s actually appropriate. Well, sort of.
He waves and says hello to everyone we pass on the street. He often says bye shortly after greeting friendly strangers. It makes me smile every time.
Most of you know that we live in the city, in the South End to be exact. We come across a diverse group of people walking around and Tommy treats everyone the exact the same way regardless of what they are wearing, the color of their skin, age, or how much money they may or may not appear to have.
Whenever people see his goofy little wave and hear him say, “Hi,” they immediately loosen up and smile back which makes Tommy even more excited. These people at first look so serious, solemn or even pissed off at first but just light up when Tommy says hi or bye.
I always used to walk around with my head down, often on my phone. Tommy is observing the world from his stroller, greeting one person at a time. It’s like he’s trying to find a way to cheer people up.
There is something so pure about children. Sometimes I wonder if Tommy is missing an important instinct to detect danger, dogs bark in his face and he is unfazed. When it comes to new faces, he couldn’t be more excited to say hello. I’m not nervous about this, but a little stranger danger I think could be beneficial.
We are in such a weird time right now politically. I learned first hand on my blog that people do not want to hear my political beliefs. I think you all know where I stand but if there is one thing that everyone can learn from children it is to be more like them and treat everyone the same.
I’m optimistic about the future generations to come that will govern our country. I just hope we can preserve their good intentions.
I feel silly writing a blog post about this topic but being a Mother has changed me in so many ways and this was something I did not expect to re-learn from Tommy but so many people have forgotten it.
