Overheard at... the elementary school

“Someone stole my magnets.”

I felt awfully sorry for the third grader who had created an amazing science project and then realized someone had wrecked it by stealing the key element. It is hard to fathom what one of the other students would find so compelling about a couple of magnets. But then again, I don’t often understand what goes through the minds of elementary school kids.

For example, what part of putting bird poop into a mud pie is so compelling? And why would you take a water balloon onto a trampoline? And don’t even get me started about food choices? I am frequently at a loss as to why my
daughter does what she does. It is certainly always a hustle to stay one step ahead of her.

Take the situation where she decides she wants to cuddle up with me in bed. One part of me wants to believe it is because I am so loved and appreciated. The other, smarter, side of me knows it probably has more to do with wanting to avoid her homework or bedtime. The eyes in the back of my head thing used to be so much easier when she was younger and I knew exactly what was going through her cute little brain. Lately, though, I think she is  outsmarting me more often than not.

She, like all kids, may not always end up doing the right thing. But I know she mostly tries, and that is enough for me. Just like the magnets stolen from that student, there is a terrible attraction toward doing the wrong thing and it isn’t always easy to turn our backs and oppose it. The good thing is that it might be more difficult, but it is never too late, to break the connection.