Green Jello

We all have things we remember. People and places, and things we love. Some experiences are forgotten but others never leave us. I had the ultimate lesson in how to be a good parent and in turn a good person when I was in preschool. I was three or four, it is hard to say for sure, and one day I was able to do something different for my lunch.

My Grandma Shirley and Grandpa Buddy picked me up to take me out for lunch. It was a treat for me because I loved them very much. They took me for a short drive ending at a local cafeteria style eatery, which i remember was very tasty.

They let me pick my own food, which is a very big deal for a child. Remember to the first time you were ever allowed to order your own food, its amazing how good a child can feel with just that little extra privilege. I see it every time my oldest is told to pick what she wants at our usual restaurants. She gets so happy but quickly puts her game face on as she tells the waitress what she wants.

On this day the most important part of my meal they let me choose was my dessert. It was the dessert that stuck out the most and made the afternoon memorable for me. There were many things to choose from but what caught my eye was the Jello. It was green Jello to be exact. You might see this as lime but my child self insisted that its color and flavor were one and the same, sort of like NyQuil but tasty.

My grandparents didn't see a need to correct my mistake. To them my green Jello was just what I said it was, and they repeated to the lady what I had asked for, the green Jello. They sat me down and even let me eat my Jello first. That's My first memory. It is a pretty simple, straight forward and ordinary.

But to me it was far from ordinary. To a child, and I even see this with my own children, the smallest kindness can make all the difference in ordinary and extraordinary. The funny thing is that now, as an adult, I can't stand lime or lime flavored anything. That day there was more to the enjoyment of my green Jello than taste alone. Even though I was a child and didn't understand it then, the event with them made a lasting impression and taught me everything I need to know to be a good father, a good husband and a good person.

To be all these good things all one needs to know is this. A child will always be a child and see the world through a child's eyes. There is magic to being a child. Everything is fresh and new. We as adults try and put too much on them and want our children to grow up too fast. Just let children be children and guide them on their way.

This is the way we as adults can recapture the magic of being children ourselves. Letting our little ones free to discover the world in their own way and time lets us enter that vision of the world again. With kindness and compassion we can all live better lives in this world we share. It was only Jello but it taught me so much more than that. I loved my grandparents very much and I am sad to see them leave us so soon. At least I will always have my green Jello.

I bring up this beautiful memory I have of my grandparents because of this. One, it is a story I like to tell. It helps me to remember two people I love that are gone now. But, this story also gives me hope. Hope that maybe one day my girls or even their own children might have a memory or two that I have given them so they may look back upon it when they are going through bad times. Something that can bring a smile back to there face and let them know that hope is never gone and the better times will return.