I've had a lot of people comment on "how good" I am with children. I've been told I "have a gift." I usually pass these comments off with an awkward smile and a shrug of the shoulders. In my mind it was simple; I've been taking care of children since I
was a child, it's fun (way more fun than a sales position), I'm taking care of someone else's children (which is a huge responsibility), and I'm being paid good money. Most of all, it's something that comes naturally to me, yes I'm always learning and growing and getting better at it, but I've never had to work hard or really struggled with it. But I guess I'm coming to realise that doesn't mean that being "good with children" is an easy thing or something to take for granted or pass off as not a big deal. And at the risk of sounding like I'm tooting my own horn, the more I'm studying the more I'm realising, I
am good with children. I'm reading "Child Development a First Course" by Kathy Sylva and Ingrid Lunt which is an introduction to the psychology of child development and a lot of the observations and recommendations they're making are things that I've always done, intuitively I guess. Maybe this is it, maybe I've realised what my "thing" is. How exciting!
Anyway I really just wanted to share this quote because I love it! It's from the chapter on substitute mothers, i.e. foster/adoptive parents, childminders, day nurseries (those are all British words, think nannies and daycare centres):
"It has been suggested that the crucial characteristic of the parental role is its partiality for the individual child; the child needs to know that to someone he matters more than other children, and that someone will go to unreasonable lengths, not just reasonable ones, for his sake."
How great is that?
Anyway, this week I'm reading Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. I picked it up in a charity shop last week. Several things about it caught my eye: Irish author, a girl living in another country away from home, the process of making your home in a strange place. I'm not very far into it yet but this quote caught my attention: "...the rest of her life would be a struggle with the unfamiliar." I've very much been feeling like this the last few weeks. Don't get me wrong, I love it here in Belfast and I'm so thankful to be here, and I don't really want to be anywhere else. Just sometimes living in another culture is tiring and I've been feeling the wear and tear of it.
On my needles today is a Jewel Cowl in a lovely shade of green. The yarn is part bamboo and it's so silky and soft! I got it in a yarn swap my local stitch 'n bitch club held at Christmas, bonus! I'm making this for my mom, but it's a surprise so don't tell!
