Mind Tour of a 5 Year Old

It’s starting to get cold here and African winter is underway!  To get you in the spirit of the flopped seasons of the Southern Hemisphere, here is a little tour of Jensen’s mind (albeit it was during a Nebraska winter a few months ago...but bear with me...you’ll start feeling more “wintery” in a few seconds).

Take a little tour of the mind of 5 year old on a cold winter’s night with new fallen snow (5 questions Jensen asked in a 30 minute car ride to a Christmas program last December)...

#1 Q: What is “moisture?”

·         My Answer: “Uh...yeah...what IS moisture?  Wet stuff!  It’s like water...but just a LITTLE bit of water.”

·         Context – Jensen wanted to roll down her car window to feel the new snow coming down on her soft, warm hands. Willing to accommodate briefly, Karl rolled it down but explained he couldn’t keep it open because it would let in too much “moisture.”  Jensen really was not impressed with the negative long term effects of “too much moisture.”  The car’s upholstery sided with Karl.

#2 Q: Umm...Mom...what does “deal with disappointment” mean?

·         My Answer: “It means you don’t always get what you want and you have to be OK with it.”

·         Context – Jensen was very sad she had to roll up her car window and we told her she needed to “deal with disappointment.” After this was explained, she voiced her general preference for getting what she wanted all the time and in pretty much every circumstance– she would be much more OK with no disappointment to deal with.

·         Side note: Whether 5 or 95 – do any of us really want to “deal with disappointment?”  I’d rather skip that part of life myself.

# 3 Q: What does “silent night” mean?

·         My Answer: “Well, silent means very quiet.  This song is about when Jesus was born – someone thought the night was very quiet and still.  But Jesus was born in a barn with all those animals.  Do you think it was quiet?”

·         Context – Listening to “Silent Night” in the car.

·         Side note: We both decided the song was pretty but might have some factual discrepancies...what we lowing cows and all (I wish someone would tell ME what “cattle lowing” means).

#4 Q: Why does snow sparkle?

·         My Answer: “Well since the snow is wet – when the light shines on it, it looks like it sparkles – kinda like God’s glitter.”

·         Context – Looking out the window at the newly fallen glitter snow.

#5 Q: What does “jazzy” mean?

·         My Answer: “It means funky (realizing she doesn’t know that word)...um...it means the music may be a little TOO exciting.”

·         Context – She overheard our conversation about how someone thought the music last year’s Christmas program was too “jazzy.”

·         Sidenote: After the Christmas concert Jensen decided it was not possible for the music to be “too jazzy.” And really – can music ever be too exciting for a 5 year old?

Can you remember a time when you didn’t know what “disappointment” meant? When every wonder of nature had to be explained...when the mysteries of life included discovering ear wax, no slumbering at “slumber parties” and realizing wet braided hair = cool crimped hair style hours later?

I want to enjoy every second of this 5 year old’s life.

All too often I am rushing – rushing past her precious days filled with a hundred questions and the joy in her eyes when she says, “Mama, watch! Watch me spin!”

Here are 3 quotes that have inspired me to SLOW IT DOWN:

“On every level of life, from housework to heights of prayer, in all judgment and efforts to get things done, hurry and impatience are sure marks of the amateur.” 

-       Evelyn Underhill

 “My biggest regret is being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I’ve ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing.… Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away.”

-        Mark Buchanan

“That in Christ, urgent means slow.

That in Christ, the most urgent necessitates a slow and steady reverence.

That in Christ, time is not running out. This day is not a sieve, losing time. In Christ, we fill – gaining time.

We stand on the brink of eternity.

So there is enough time.

Time to breathe deep and time to see real.

Time to laugh long, time to give God glory and rest deep and sing joy. And just enough time in a day not to feel hounded, pressed, driven, or wild to get it all done.”

-       Ann Voskamp

Today I’ve decided...I am going to REFUSE the rush. I’m going to watch her spin...and think about why snow sparkles...and take time to appreciate the “jazzy” parts of life.  Jensen sees jazzy everywhere she looks – and when I slow down just a little bit...I can see it too.


See the spin...