Children really know their stuff...be a kid again!

I traveled to Waterloo this morning for an eye exam (after four years of rationing 8-10 boxes of contacts, I finally had to go see the eye doctor again to get a new prescription).  Getting out on the road was enjoyable.  I took pleasure in taking the time to reflect and listen to the radio.  While listening, I heard a cool story on Life 101.9 which I thought presented a great lesson.

The DJ on the radio was talking about taking her kids to school this morning.  She evidently has one daughter and one son.  As she described, the daughter is a year or two older than the son, and I believe it was the son’s first year or two of school.  As the radio announcer continued on, she said that she drops her kids off at school every morning, and every morning, her son and daughter get out of the car and walk up to the school together, which is pretty cool image.  That however is not the only cool part about this story.  As they walk up to the school together, the older sister puts her arm around her younger brother, and walks with him around to the entrance he is supposed to go to.  The older sister makes sure her younger brother makes it to school safely every morning.

Every morning.  Every morning, rather than bolting straight from the car to her friends, a caring big sister takes a few extra steps to make sure her brother makes it to school safe and sound.  Sometimes the little things make a big difference and this is one of those moments.

I might be stepping on a soap box here, but I gotta let this out.  So often in the professional world, people expect you to be adult, and if you act like a child in any sort of way, you are automatically labeled as inappropriate and/or unprofessional.  Yeah, I know the circumstances may be different with each type of situation, but come on!  Why can’t we have fun in the workplace?!  I mean really have fun.  Not just say it, and then expect something else.  The truth is, some kids in this world are just about as wise as some of the world’s most famous philosophers.  They can truly make us think and be an example for us.

So I’m putting my foot down.  Here’s what I say.  Be a kid!  It’s ok to be a kid and to learn from them.  And gosh darn it, take the extra steps once in awhile.  Help those you care about out.  This goes for me too.  Lastly, enjoy your life.  I’ve echoed this before, and I’ll echo it again, in the words of Ferris Bueller:

“Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” ~ Ferris Bueller