A Child's Trust Taken For Granted

 

 

It had never really crossed my mind before. Kids and trust. 

 

My kids all learned so early to trust us, rely on us as parents to take care of their needs. I didn't realize I was taking it for granted.

 

It seemed like a normal thing in the world, that's just what kids learn, right?

I remember to be thankful for

healthy kids

our home

our marriage

our food

my job

my husband's job

and the list goes on.

 

I just never thought to be thankful for our kids trusting us.

 

It just seemed like a natural thing to happen.

 

When I watched Dax trying to jump to Wen, it hit me. His little eyes and body movement are telling a story. He is cautious. He is nervous. He really wants to jump and be caught but he is afraid he won't be caught. That fear only lasted a few seconds as daddy reassured him once again that he will catch him. And then that sweet Dax remembered his trust, remembered the many, many, many times before when his daddy did catch him, and he jumped with a huge smile across his face and a tiny giggle slipped out.

 

It was such a small part of our day full of Dax running to hold daddy's hand and begging daddy to carry him around. It didn't seem so big at first but the more I thought of it the bigger it seemed.

 

And I felt so very grateful for this life.

 

So grateful I comforted my babies when they cried. So grateful I carried them, wore them in slings, and snuggled them whenever they asked. So grateful I listened to their cries and helped them fix their problems. So grateful I slept beside them to help them feel safe. So grateful I caught them every time they jumped and encouraged them to jump again and again and again.

 

I didn't spoil them. I didn't ruin them. I didn't make them brats. I built their trust.

 

My heart aches for the children who haven't had their trust built up.