Inevitably, the phrase "children are like clay - there for you to mold and shape" was uttered by one of our friends.
Now, this line may not be the literal direct quote you hear, but everyone has heard it, or another variation like it, where someone draws this comparison. Now for those of you who don't know me, 'Devil's Advocate' is my 2nd job, so I say "After you mold and shape clay into a beautiful sculpture, it stays the way you want it to and you can leave it and not worry about it changing back to just a lump of clay"
Do kids stay the way you want them to? Are you ever able to say "There, I am finished"?
I think they are more like memory foam, you change it into whatever shape you want, but when you turn your back and think you are finished, it slowly changes back to its original shape.
Only through time and consistent everyday shaping can you guide it into the shape you wish. If you have put in enough love and desire into the working of the foam hopefully, when you are no longer around to give it the constant attention, it will retain your work in its memory."
Yeah....I know.....Aesop I am not, but I liked my insane analogy.
I think my child has taught me more about what I don't know than I could ever teach him TO know. The less newbie I am, the more I see that I am here to learn about MYSELF from being privy to the societal evolution and integration of (what I consider) a fully-formed soul with no knowledge of this world. We are here to guide and protect that soul, never to mold it. That child (as long as it's not Satan's Spawn - and I am being literal), will learn to navigate this world most efficiently and safely from the best example. You. You can influence more with your actions than words - and they will see it and eventually mimic it.
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