Little People To Be Unfolded

School shopping with my 12 yr. old today.  He picked out two pairs of fluorescent athletic shoes (one chartreuse), two pairs of bb shorts (one was fluorescent orange) , and four t-shirts (2 were fluorescent green).  Exactly one-half of the purchased items were fluorescent.

His color choices tell a lot about his personality. Half the time he is jostling for my attention.  He is loud.  He is in my face.  He is annoying and teasing and fluorescent in personality.  He's hilarious and infuriating.  He's the child that spit on the cookie dough in this post.

The other half of the time, he wants to blend in with the carpet.  Maybe he wants to be the carpet, so he could just be.  If he were the carpet, he wouldn't have to acknowledge the existence of other humans living in the same house, and he wouldn't have to respond to unwanted requests like, "Will you please take a shower?"

I remember a quote that a friend growing up had posted on her kitchen wall.  "Children are not creatures to be molded, but little people to be unfolded."  


Here's to you, kid, may I love whatever You unfolds.