“Kids Say the Darndest Things” was a TV show originally hosted by Art Linkletter in the late 1950’s and then reprised by Bill Cosby. The show featured the wisdom that came out when children opened their
mouths.
Here are two gems:
“I wish our family could stop trying to pretend we are normal.”
“Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family, and I can never do it.”
My mother would shake in fear whenever my mouth opened around others, because she had no idea what would pop out. Aubrey, my wife, now has the “privilege” to harbor that fear. More than a few times she has had to tell me, “Just stop talking.”
As I have gotten older, I have noticed more and more somethings pop out of my mouth when it opens. It’s my parents. I open my mouth and Melvin pops out. I open my mouth and Nata pops out.
Sometimes it is full of wisdom, sometimes it is something I said I would never say.
I have noticed that when “kids say the darndest things” they are often repeating what they have heard, whether they are 6 or 60. Our children are listening and learning from us, so when we open our mouths, let life pop out.