I don’t know who did it, but it made me angry.
Angry because I knew that I could not rush my 6 year old through the process of using the public restroom without her noticing. That I couldn’t keep her from sounding out those “new to her” words on the wall.
There are positives and negatives of my child knowing how to read. Of course the positives outweigh the negatives but still. It makes for a difficult parenting job, she’s my third, shouldn’t it be easier or something with the third? I’m getting off track here, huh?
The writing on the wall, although some of it was nice quotes, was still vandelism and graffiti. Which meant that not only did I need to explain that some of the words were bad words but that it’s wrong to write on anything that is not your property.
I could see her eyes scanning the walls, all while I was prodding her to hurry and DO NOT TOUCH anything in here!
She had questions and comments to make. I explained like I needed to and she was ok with what I gave her. At 6, she still does that normally. She accepts what I tell her and she is off onto the next thing that catches her attention.
I mentioned I’m on my third child, in fact my third daughter. My other two are 21 and 26 years old. I know alittle about what lies ahead, so I am cherishing the 6 year old right now.
Even if I have to explain the writing on the wall at times.
Grace is a gift,
Julie
Pushing Forward with Grace 
I wish I could capture the innocence of my 2 1/2 year old and keep him that way forever, but I know I can’t. I want to shield him from the world…this is a great reminder that the time I have with my little ones (no matter how challenging!) is so precious and to cherish each hug, kiss, and unconditional love. Thank you!
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Thanks for commenting! Do cherish these days! Life goes so quickly! I learned alot from raising my 20 something girls! The dishes can wait and the work can wait , playing with the 6 yr old is prime now!
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I remember taking my oldest daughter into a stall and thinking the exact same thing! It saddens me that not everything that my children will read is appropriate or edifying or worth the paper…metal?…it’s written on. Good post Julie!
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I love this! I know it wasn’t so amusing at the time though. I find that with graffiti in public places, it makes me so angry too. The reason is because it is there right in your face, almost as bad as if someone were yelling it right in your face. I wish it wasn’t against the law to write godly messages on the bathroom wall! 🙂
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Thanks for commmenting! I am glad you enjoyed the post. Good know I am not the only one that feels that way!
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One of my girls was a little cusser. She made up her own. Her favorite was, “squawk”. She would shout it at those ‘insert bad word here’ moments. We laughed behind closed doors and ignored it publicly and eventually she found more appropriate words. Thankfully, she couldn’t read and didn’t know any real swear words or I’m sure I would have been horrified in public many times. It can be frustrating when trying to raise children and the world is battling against us.
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Thanks for sharing your parenting story! Love it! Its a battle but our God is a great God to guide us!
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Hi Julie, I’m Miranda via Thee Angel Project! Stopping by to say Hello and how excited I am to participate in this “Small Group” of encouraging, loving and inspiring each other. And oh how I remember those days with my kiddos. Mommy what does that mean, they would say. How do you respond? Always a tough one for me. Love the post (:
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Miranda thanks for stopping by! They are sweet days aren’t they! 😉 looking forward to getting to know you!
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Hi Julie, I’m Chris via Thee Angel Project. Stopped by too to say yellow. I am extremely honored to join this group of wonderful women and hope that maybe something I say can encourage. I have adult children and wish I could take them back to the innocence, but alas, that is not to be. What you say is true. I would like to keep them from that big bad world, but not even God kept us from it. He said we are in the world but not of it. The most important thing I remember Him saying about all this is that “He has overcome the world.” Now that is victory.
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Hi! Thanks for stopping by! Thanks for your uplifting words too!
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