Sweet Innocence

Categories: parenting

I just finished reading a very sweet book, "The Railway Children" by E. Nesbit. It's very much in the vein of "Little Women" or "Anne of Green Gables". Stories of sweet childhood even in the hard times. I was feeling nostalgic for that era of childhood. It must have been so wonderful to be a child in that Victorian era and having children with that sweet innocence.

Just at that thought, I heard sounds of giggling downstairs. A voice that is just beginning to sound a touch more adult mingling with two younger voices, one higher and one lower. It was a beautiful sound. I realized in that second, that I have that life and that my children have that sweet innocence of childhood. They get into plenty of scrapes, but they love each other and they love others. They know that they are loved and taken care of and will be. They have seen that life can be sad and troubled but they have seen that there are people who are willing to help and willing to love unconditionally. They are learning and will prayerfully continue to learn how to give of themselves. They will have to face that people can be unkind and the world can be an ugly place, but they will hopefully learn it with the foundation of God, parents, grandparents and friends who love them and will stand beside them when life gets rough. I love that home schooling gives them the time and opportunity to be children who are not rushing to grow up and who can retain that sweet innocence. It's so very precious.

Perhaps someday a story will be written around them. I am sure if it is, there will be plenty of stories of Caileigh getting them into scrapes and the boys figuring out how to get out of it but at least they are in it together.