It All Becomes So Clear

Do you remember all that stuff your mom and dad told you, warned you about, and made you do that even as you grew up, you A. had NO idea why and B. even when you tried to rationalize it, it really made very little sense?

You know, things like having to walk your bike across the street. Didn't that seem somewhat dumb? I mean really, if you stop and look both ways then ride your bike across, you get to safety sooner. And even if it was explained to you that by walking it you lower your risk of falling and getting tangled up in the bike and thus run over by some car who most likely is being driven by a blind man ... you probably thought that was silly too.

Or what about, we have bones to protect our inner organs? Okay great, but really? Why are we protecting them? How often do you get jabbed so far into your tummy you have to worry about puncturing your spleen? (BTW, does anyone really even know where your spleen is and what it does?)

I know I've talked a bit about this bike riding thing, but it occurs to me over the past few weeks that there are many of these little tid bits of info that we were told about as kids, rationalized as stupid as teens, and now as parents ... well, they are now precious nuggets of pure brilliance!

For example: that afore mentioned bike-walking thing. That is GENIUS. Thank you to the person who came up with that safety tip. I mean as I watch Saylah ride (like a rock star by the way) down the street and take the all too often tumble, I am reminded that it IS important to make her get off her bike and WALK it across the street. Sure, slower to get to the other side, but as I've seen her fall, and not quite be able to get herself untangled, I'm struck with awe for the super-smart human who came up with the walking rule. And trust me, she's already tried to rationalize to me that she should be able to ride her bike across the street ... ahh, the circle continues. ;)

Then there are the ribs. God really did know what He was doing when he created those. I mean, I assumed He did, but I can't say I ever gave them much thought, beyond thinking it was gross that people ate them when they come from a pig ... ew. But the other day, during one of those frequent tumbles that are inevitable when learning to ride a bike, Saylah took a tumble and landed smack dab on her handle bar handle. Ouch! She screamed something fierce and proclaimed that it "poked her all the way through her tummy."

I'm sure it did, because she now has a near-perfectly round red mark where it poked her. The mark ... located right where her ribs are near the bottom of the cage. And I think ... thank you God for creating ribs. Those little gadgets sure did come in handy!

Reflecting on these little gems, I am now pondering, what other pieces of knowledge have I simply shirked off ... until I became a parent? What about you? Got any fun ones to share? I'd love to hear them.