I don’t know about your kids, but my kids are pretty weird.
Actually, no… they are REALLY weird.
And I couldn’t be happier.
I’m not talking about “creepy” weird
(like carrying on a conversation with one’s finger).
I mean, quirky weird.
Unique.
Marching to their own beat, type of weird.
For example, sometimes after leaving my computer unattended for awhile,
I will return to find my screen filled with images like this:
Or this…
And no, I have no idea how Carey got inside my computer.
Or Polly will creep us all out at dinner by doing her “roving eye trick,”
and ask us to take pictures so she can laugh at herself.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe that this child, and this child are one and the same.
And when you have weird kids, you never quite know
what you’re going to be confronted with when you turn around…
Which can make life a lot more interesting.
But it’s best to be prepared for the worst.
(And don’t look while you are driving, because you might laugh so hard you crash.)
There are times when it’s just downright scary –
because I don’t know how to rid myself
of the memory of this poltergeist locked inside my screen.
I am all for weird, silly, quirky, goofy.
Because, if your kids are any of those things,
or all of those things,
it means they can laugh at themselves.
And they can let others laugh at them,
without being overly sensitive,
without taking it personally.
And it’s harder for others to make them a target, or tease,
when they are already willing to make fools of themselves and laugh about it.
If they don’t worry too much about what other people think,
they’re going to have a lot more fun in life.
They’ll be less afraid to try something new – even if no one else is doing it.
And they’ll be less worried about failing.
Let’s just say, they can’t act like this… and let their mother take a picture,
AND take themself too seriously or be too fussed about what others think.
Being uniquely weird is not something kids need to grow out of.
It’s something they need to grow into.
So, we tell our kids to embrace their weirdness.
Celebrate it.
Own that shit!
Don’t airbrush away personality in exchange for fake perfection.
Be fearless, be bold, be weird, be yourself.
(Adults are weird too, of course. We are just much much better at hiding it.)
Leave A Reply