Childhood is precious and magical

For most of us our childhood is a special time in our lives and when we think back to it and remember the happy occasions we shared with our parents and our family we are reminded how wonderful it is to be young and a kid again. That is why I am sad in a way knowing that our children seem to have to grow up sooner than we did as they are exposed to a lot more than we were as kids. It is much nicer being a kid, free of major responsibility and pressures that we typically encounter when we grow up. I am reminded of the times when it seemed my childhood passed in a flash and before I knew it I was caught up in the school years. It seemed school was our first experience outside of our safe surroundings of home and the introduction to responsibility and growing up. Once our formal education was complete we would then go off to college and then the working world. It seems the time we were kids went by too fast and in a way I feel my son is now at that stage in his life as a student in middle school with a more demanding schedule and a longer day in the class room. He is now 11 years old and is growing up in front of my very own eyes. I know it is important to start school early and be responsible and we teach Matthew that he should be dedicated to his school work and be very responsible. For the most part going to school is fun and it is one of the best times in our lives. School shields us from the outside world and provides us with the knowledge and the confidence to eventually take on the challenges we will encounter.

We want our son to enjoy his childhood for as long as he can and to enjoy doing kid things. We know he loves to play on the computer and to surf the internet. We need to always monitor his time on the internet and make sure he is protected. Matthew loves to watch his movie dvds and some of his favorite movies are the Disney movies like Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Lilo and Stitch and some of the classics like 101 Dalmatians, The Lion King and Snow White. It is nice to watch the movies together and spend time and just enjoy each others company and be kids. Matthew has a sensitive side with a caring disposition and he is a very good boy who has such a great personality. I love to see Matthew's drawings and his writings and am very happy to see he is progressing well in school and getting good grades. I feel it is important to enjoy school for what it is and not to get hung up on grades. It is the learning that is most important.

The beauty of childhood is the innocence and the magic. For when we are children we are visited by the tooth fairy when we lose a tooth. We are easily pleased as children as we don't ask for much. The joy of riding a bicycle for the first time is purely magical to a child. Birthday celebrations are so much more fun when we are children and the holidays are truly wonderful times as we are all together as family and at Christmas we are all so excited to open our presents that Santa had brought us. We delight in a day off from school when we get a snow day and enjoy frolicking in the snow making snow angels and going sleigh riding. It is the magical moments such as these that make our childhood so special and bring a smile to our face when we think back to them.

I believe we are blessed as adults with children because it is our way of experiencing childhood again through the eyes of our children and that is so very special to be able to connect with them and also see what it was like for our parents when we were children. It is such a wonderful gift to have children of your own to take care of and to share your life with. I feel so much more content in life with a child. Our son truly gives our lives so much more meaning and we are so in love with him. Each day with our son is a learning experience and we wish to find activities beyond the classroom that would be suitable for him. It is so enjoyable to see pictures of us when we were babies and young children and the more exciting part is showing our children those pictures and asking them to guess who are in the pictures. Matthew always knows the pictures are of me when I was a baby. He likes to see them and I like to share them with him and show pictures of my parents and sisters also.

This is what makes life so wonderful. The times we share with our kids and the joy in seeing them as kids enjoying life and just being kids. If we could teach Matthew to just enjoy these times and make the most of them then we will have done a very good thing because once our childhood comes to an end it is a very sad day because that means we have to grow up and sometimes it is better just being a kid!

Edward D. Iannielli III