Little Lessons
I have enjoyed spending time with little children, big children, and their mamas this week at play practice. One of my jobs is sitting with little grandchildren during practice. A week of three-hour practices in a public place means lots of trips to the bathroom and, therefore, lots of hand washing.
Our two-year-old grandson loves to wash his hands anywhere, but public bathrooms are especially fun. Where else can he put his tiny hand under a soap dispenser and have a plop of white foamy fun fall into it automatically? It’s so much fun that, of course, he wants to do it over and over again.
Bathroom visits are filled with teachable moments. You know the routine:
“Oh . . . oh . . . don’t touch that!”
“Stand right there and don’t move.”
“That’s enough soap, Honey.”
“It’s time to turn the water off now.”
I’m thankful that your children have a loving mama to teach them what to do in the bathroom — and what to do everywhere else, too.
Last Friday I ran into a convenience store for a pit stop. When I walked into the restroom, I saw a detailed sign of instruction with the title:
How and When to Wash Your Hands
What a sad state of things it is that grown people need instruction in something so basic that they should have learned it at their mama’s knee.
Then on Sunday I was in a public restroom when a lady and a little girl came out of a stall and headed straight to the door without stopping at the sink. I guess when that little girl grows up she might benefit from a sign about how and when to wash her hands. I’m so glad your children won’t need the sign about that.
Or about a whole lot of other things either. Let me say it again: good job, Mama!
You shall therefore impress these words of mine
on your heart and on your soul . . .
You shall teach them to your sons,
talking of them when you sit in your house
and when you walk along the road
and when you lie down
and when you rise up.
Deuteronomy 11:18-19