I read somewhere in a parenting book once about the amazing resiliancy of children. I'd quote it to you directly, but I'm not sure where the book is at the moment but it's gist was this: The way adults handle the world is magical and miraculous to children. In the child's small realm of experience, she has no idea how a parent knows things, she just knows that they know and she doesn't. But despite the seemingly infinite disparity between childhood and adulthood the child shows tremendous courage in being willing to move forward and learn. This reminds me of Francie. Francie is a thinker, enthralled with what goes on around her, trying to figure it all out, reasoning out the why and hows of her existence. Often times it's heartbreaking as Francie has to negotiate the world she has created in her mind with the reality she lives in. But it doesn't break her soul.
That last sentence was especially beautiful. I think the reason it's so heartbreaking to read about what she's going through is that we all remember those moments of childhood disillusionment, when our perception of the world met the world as it actually was and we were changed.
ReplyDeleteIt still happens to me from time to time, quite frankly.