Saturday, August 2, 2008

I'm Back!


B"H

Well, even bloggers need to vacation, and a week by the sea can really do some good!

Sorry I left without mentioning it, but you know--you have to be concerned about security these days.

Meanwhile, I was left with some very distinct metaphors during the week. Like how, when the sea meets the land it is simultaneously beautiful and violent. My son was perfectly happy swimming for four days in the water then, on evening before we left I showed him a jellyfish dead on the beach. He wanted to touch it, but I explained that it can sting, even when it is dead.

Well, that was the end of him wanting to swim! He was terrified of the water. I asked him why, and he said he was afraid of the jellyfish. He didn't want to get stung. I said he didn't get stung the whole time we were there, so he shouldn't be afraid now.

"But I didn't know the jellyfish were there!"

"You would rather that I never told you about the dangerous things in the world? You would rather not know?" I asked.

"You shouldn't tell me about things that are dangerous. I don't want to know so that I am not afraid." He explained.

"I am the opposite, " I said. "I want to know about everything that could hurt me so that I can know how to deal with it when I come across it. When I was afraid of ants, I studied them in books for weeks because I wanted to know about what I feared."

"Not me, Ima." My son said.

I fear he is more like the rest of the world than I am. Most people, it seems, would rather just not know.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please do not use comments to personally attack other posters.