budding beauties
in that which is the beauty of another day, we tend to re-think our transgressions of the days before. We ponder our choices, we glance into the past... viewing with questions, as so bold to wonder, "what if i...?"So today is one of these days. i sit and i wonder. i wonder and i sit. (all between teaching homeschooling lessons of course!)
Today's lessons were full of history. In our house, we love us some History! Knights and princesses to be exact! We have been studying the time of True Kings and Queens; medieval times and on up to the Renaissance time. Where people were beheaded almost daily, and the crusades were slaughtering every man, woman, and child who didn't accept Jesus as their savior (thank God we've moved past these days!) But it is amazing how much the movies make these times out to be so magical and full of romance... when in reality, it was full of murder and bloodshed. We teach our little girls about the romance of fairy tales and then they dream about a knight so valiant to ride up on his beautiful white horse to save her from the perils of the horrid dragon. But in true history, Knights often "took" women as their own, and very (very) rarely did the beautiful lady find herself living like a magnificent Queen in a big castle. Knights were never a King or even a Prince. They were noblemen from time to time, but we tend to think of the Knight as this wonderful hero. i suppose we can all define a hero in our own ways, but the reality is less romantic than the fairy tale.
It is kind of sad to see the disappointment on a 10 year olds face, when they really start to understand what the world use to be like. It is hard to sugar coat History. No more fairy tales and legends of dragons and knights slaying them to free the beautiful maiden. Although it is good to still bring those stories in to tell during the lessons.
Which brings me back to my sitting and thinking today. Why do we teach the stories that we teach? Why do we tell a young, very impressionable, child about fairy tales and things that are not real. Santa Claus. The Easter Bunny. The tooth Fairy. Etc. We fill their heads up so full of things that are not real, and then one day we just expect them to wake up and understand that all the while... nothing we said was true.
I'm sure this will start a controversy of backlash, but from day 1 we never told Claire that any of that was true. She knew that we were Santa, the Easter bunny, and the whole bunches of other things. She still to this day is full of imagination and she chose to "believe" in it all on her own. Something deep down inside of me felt betrayal (the first of many i am afraid) towards my parents for telling such stories... such lies to me when i was a child. i can still remember the day my older sister told me the truth. i cried. i was more upset and angry at my parents for the lie than i was in finding out that these mythical creatures did not exist. i never wanted my child to feel that sting of truth when she learned that her entire childhood of fantasy was a bold faced lie from those who she trusted the most.
But i too believe in the fairy tale of adventure and spirit of those things which can not be seen. i have been blessed with such an amazing child. She believed without fail in the adventure of fairies, Mermaids, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and all of the rest of them. Without even thinking twice about the truth, she felt that even though she knew the truth - there must be something more to the belief than that which is fact. And i totally love that about her. She has a spirit beyond science, beyond fact and her adventure... is sure to take her places in her life!
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