We have a lot of conversations on the way to school in the morning. Maybe it’s the early morning; we seem to be morning people in this family. Maybe it’s the twenty minutes uninterrupted by Minecraft or Teen Titans Go in the background. Maybe it’s just the breezy light feeling of driving down the road, unhurried and unstressed.
Today we talked about bees. My children are unnaturally afraid of bees. Of course, it is natural to be afraid of bees as they can sting and hurt, but my children are unnaturally afraid. Neither has been stung or hurt by a bee in their lives, but they have given it much thought, too much thought.
Why does God have to make bees, anyway?
Flowers have to be pollinated. Then they can produce fruit. Vegetables. Seeds. Bees are good for the earth and for plants. And what’s more, every creature has a way to defend themselves. Bees are so small and God gave them stingers for defense.
It made me think of the time the oldest asked me on our morning drive if it was hard to be a grown up.
Hmmm. How does one answer that question?
Sometimes it’s hard. But mostly it’s great, I get to go to work and help people. I get to drive a car and read big books. I have a bank account and I can buy things when I want.
I think I was feeling especially positive that morning, because this morning, being an adult was really hard. Getting ready for school, the news was on and the oldest stood slack jawed in front of the TV, the color in his face drained. What in the world was he watching? I joined him and watched as scores of Syrian children were being carried, limp and pale, clinging to life after chemical weapons were used against them, likely by their own government.
What happened to those children? Why would someone hurt kids?
This is the part of being an adult that is hard to put in words. Shitty things can happen in this world. Really shitty things. Things that can not be explained. Things that go against everything within your soul that tells you what is right. Sometimes being an adult means you face the evil of the world and you have to find a way to keep going. Keep loving. Keep trying. Keep hoping for a better world for your children and their children. Hope in the face of complete and utter despair. That’s what being an adult is like. That’s when it’s hard.
A bee sting is nothing compared to what can happen to you in this world, children. What is happening to children right now. You’ll learn in time that being afraid of bees is silly. You’ll learn that there are so many worse things to be afraid of and when that happens, I fear you will no longer be children anymore. That’s when you’ll know what it’s like to be a grown up.
Photo credit: Ericka Thorpe
deconstructingdoctor.com 
As a rule, I try not to watch gory videos. The news in print already stirs up my imagination in ways that scare the very underpants out of me. However, these videos manage to exceed my imagination in the length of their cruelty and the breadth of their heartlessness. I wonder how much wickedness it would take to come up with such acts. I wonder how someone could live like this. I wonder if these perpetrators have families- wives, sisters, children. When they look at them, how can they not see the dozens and scores of men, women and children they have wounded, maimed and killed? Such mindless violence scares me. I wonder if these people are human being like me, does that mean there is a part of me that is capable of this? The thought alone scares me silly. I’m sorry, I’m ranting all over your post, but I’m barely holding it together. And to think I’d already seen the very dregs of human decadence right here…
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I understand completely! I’m haunted. You hit on something though. These are humans just like you and me. The other side of the spectrum to what we spend our entire lives doing. We can only imagine saving lives. They can only imagine taking. It’s like looking at our mirror image. That horror can be possible in me? The human in me can justify the taking of innocent life? I’m revolted and sickened by it but there it is. The possibility. Oh friend may God have mercy on us all.
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May God have mercy on all of us indeed
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I miss when bees were on my top fears/worries list. It was a simpler time…
Good piece!
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Me too! Thanks.
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I think the hardest part and the part we fail with most as a whole is to keep loving and striving for a better future. It seems too many of us cave to fear and allow these evil things to grow and fester. After all, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” and striving for a better future with love is doing something and to do so, one has to do like you said, find a way to face the evil and keep going. Your children are so very lucky to have you 🙂
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Thank you!
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I wish my mom had the sense to be as balanced as you. Being an adult is hard, and marvelous. The world is deadly and filled with beauty. That is just the way it is.
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Well put thank you
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The reality of life with it’s good and bad, love and hate, happiness and fear. What is heartbreaking for me is everything we do and say is a choice. Making a choice to maim or kill another innocent human especially a child is horrifying and even as an adult we know there is no explanation. The following is a quote I think about every day. I didn’t write it but I try to live by it.
“An old Cherokee told his grandson, “My son, there’s a
battle between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger,
jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies & ego. The other
is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy &
truth. “The boy thought about this & asked, ‘Which wolf
wins?'” The old Cherokee replied, “The one you feed”.
I read this to my children when they were young. I now read it to my grandchildren. ☺
.
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Great lesson, thank you! I’ve not heard that before but it is quite profound. It helps❤
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You are most welcome. My life’s wish. xo
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Wouldn’t it be a much better world if we didn’t have to learn adult stuff.
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Agreed!
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I was stunned when I saw that too, I felt my soul die a bit that innoncent children are going through such massive dispare and those that live through it will have that with them alway – just devastating and gut wrenching.
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I know. I felt that, too. How does one explain that to children? Mostly I just tried to console.
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I wish I had that answer or better yet never had to worry about that being a question!! It just sickens me to death!!!
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I’m with you on that!
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