The first one was a couple weeks ago as I helped my friend coach swimming. The kids are great, but trying to keep them all swimming and doing the right set, can be a bit of a hand full at times. Believe it or not kids get distracted very easily. Whether it's because they are talking to friends, goofing off, or just plain tired, there is always some kid trying to get out of swimming the given set. This experience happened with one of my friend Tyler's kids. A great little Asian seven year old in the middle of the set jumped out of the pool and with great hopes to get out of the set and holding his chest, said, "Coach Tyler......I think I'm having a heart attack." Holding back a little bit of laughter Tyler went through some of the symptoms of a heart attack with him. After the boy affirmed three or four of these symptoms Tyler asked, "Does your stomach feel like it's warm or on fire?" The little boy grabbed his tummy in deep thought and after a few seconds of looking like he was making an important decision, looked up to affirm that it did when Tyler interrupted his response with a good coaches, "Ah! You aren't having a heart attack. Get back in the pool." This experience made me laugh ore than anything, but also reminded me of the innocence and good humor that kids have that I think we could all strive for.
The next is an example of how it's interesting that on a dark and gloomy day, how a snot faced, long haired, innocent little kid can say just what you need to hear and bring a little sunshine into your day. The other day while mowing lawns, after a streak of a bit of a rough time in my life, I was feeling a little down and in need of just a little pick me up. While getting our lawn mowers tuned up by the neighbor to one of our clients, a little boy with long blond hair looked out the window and noticing my Superman t-shirt, yelled out, "Hey Superman!" With a smile and a little chuckle I said my, "Hey!" back. With a big smile on his face, the boy then said, "Are you going to help some people today?" Without a sufficient answer, I could only smile and say, "Ya I'll try!"
This got me thinking....why do I think my problems are so big? Why don't I stop worrying about myself and really look for someone that I can help. Isn't that what a super hero does anyway? One reason that people connect so much with super heroes is not just because they have abilities and powers that anyone would love to have, but because they take the pains, disappointments, and heartaches that we all have in life, and use them to help others. This experience to me was rather ironic. This young kid was asking me if I was going to go help anyone, as if I had super powers, yet he as an innocent little boy, knowing he had no powers, was helping me with a simple question. One does not need to have powers, knowledge, or to even be big, muscular or an adult to help out. This world is pretty full of problems and people looking for answers and hope. We could all be helped out if we all had a little bit more sincere desire to know what is going on in other peoples lives, humor, belief, and wonder, as I have seen demonstrated in these two kids.
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