Author: Jim Van Slyke I received my first lesson of parenting long before I was a parent. I didn't know it at the time, but what I learned is perhaps the most crucial tool all parents of young kids need to survive until their kids wise up - or at least think they wise up. I was on a trip with my wife, although at this point in our lives we are a few years away from tying the knot. We were attending the baptism of one of my wife's friend's kids. I had no idea who was getting baptized that day, only that I was going to Frederick, Md., to witness a big day for a family I didn't really know. My future wife and I arrived at the church early enough to find all the parents with young kids - including the parents of the soon-to-be baptized - struggling to keep their kids from turning the building into a war zone. Breakfast appeared to have been skipped or ignored - most likely because the kids wouldn't sit long enough for it - so one of the fathers was desperately trying to convince two preschool -aged girls that they should have a few bites of a nice blueberry muffin the church provided before the service started. However, as children do, these two girls wanted nothing to do with the muffins and declared that they did not like blueberries. I think their exact words where, "I HATE blueberries more than anything in the world, including frogs!"
Content and Comment Guidelines
Author: Jim Van Slyke