Over the last few weeks, I have watched my kids get to know their out of town cousins. It has been a process, for sure. For kids who are used to a whole school year or a whole camp session to make friends, it is not simple to create immediate bonds with people seen only every few years. Yet, as I have watched, I have begun to see the crossing of age boundaries and the willingness to try new things. I have seen looking after and looking ahead. I have seen real signs that progress has been made.
As I watch, I realize how much we expect of kids. We expect them to forge connections, when we ourselves struggle with that every day. We expect them to look out for the underdog when we ourselves spend so much of our days looking out for ourselves. We expect them to try new things when we ourselves get stuck on the "new" all the time. And when they succeed, do we congratulate them, or more important, do we take a lesson from them in our own lives?
Watching my kids get to know their out of town cousins has reminded me how much we can do to expand our circles and our outlook. It takes a leap. It takes patience, and persistence, and the willingness to communicate with the bigger and the smaller, the people who know more than you, and the people who know less.
But, as far as I can tell from the meetings I've witnessed these few weeks, it can be well worth it.
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