Why Not?

It is good to ask questions.  Questions can challenge you and cause you to think about something from a different perspective.  Lately I've been challenged by the simple question, 'Why not?'.  As a mom of two boys, questions are a daily part of life.  'Mom, can I do this?', 'Mom, can I go to the park?', 'Mom, why can't I do that?'.  Those are just the beginning.

And the answers to questions are important as well.  Sometimes, there isn't a good answer. Sometimes the answer is no.  I realized over the past couple of years that I had started to say no to my boy's questions, without even thinking about it. 'Mom, can I go play in the rain?' 'Mom, can we go jump in mud puddles?'.  I was saying no to things that wouldn't hurt them, and in fact might bring joy to their hearts.  When I did some soul searching about why I was saying no, most often it was because in some way it would be an inconvenience to me to say yes. More laundry. A dirty house.  What would people think?  Whew.  Talk about missing the point.  

So, I'm trying to think more about my response to questions these days.  When one of my boys, who was helping me roll out pizza crust the other day, asked me if he could make a crazy shaped crust, I wanted to say no because it wouldn't look "nice".  But then I caught myself and said yes.  Why not?  And when my other son wanted to wear mismatched bright orange shorts and a shirt to school, I wanted to say no because it just didn't go together. And it hurt to look at him.  But, then I asked myself 'Why not?'.  Who cares if he matches?  Who am I trying to impress? I said yes, and when  I asked him why he wanted to wear that particular set of clothes, he replied that he wanted to be 'NEON' that day.  His response brought a smile to my face and my heart...I knew that I had made the right choice.  I just wish I had taken a picture of him to post here, so you could see for yourself.  You'll just have to use your imagination!