The things they tell us...

I was reflecting back to a time in my life where I was far more innocent and far more naive and I had to laugh about some of the things I was told and believed.  I am sure most parents, older siblings or peers of some sort tell little white lies to either fascinate, scare or confuse children.  I am also sure most of the things I believed were explained to me or over heard and I interpreted them the way my child like mind figured things out.  Therefore, I guess I can not put all the blame on my parents, brothers and sisters and all the other people who influenced my young mind! :)

Here are a few of the ideas I believed or thought of back in the days:

- I once believed we lived inside the Earth, the sky was the crust of the planet and the stars were small holes in the crust.  I believed the sun and the moon were inside the crust and I could not for the life of me figure out how space shuttles got through the crust!

-On that same note, I believed the sun and the moon were far smaller and they circled the Earth, instead of the Earth circling the sun.

- I was told by two babysitters that when they wiped the dust with their fingers and then licked their fingers they would turn into zombies.  I was scared of dust for years...

- When I was little I shared a room with my older sister... when I got my own room I remember hating being alone at night and praying for the day when I could be married so I would never have to sleep alone again!

- I grew up in Utah near American Fork canyon.  Every night my dad watched Mash and I used to look up at the mountain by my house and I believed Mash was actually taking place up in those mountains.

- I was told by one of my older siblings that if I covered my eyes and walked through the family room, no one would see me because I could not see them.  I tried it one time while my parents were having a large party.  I remember hiding under the night stand next to the couch and then covering my eyes and walking out into the crowd, really believing there was no chance they could see me.  I do not remember much of what happened next, except one of my parents quickly scooting me out of the room and back to bed.  I am sure they all had a good laugh, including my siblings!

-One of my brothers told me that if I ever did anything bad all I had to say to my parents was, “Satan made me do it”.  That did not fly as well as I thought it would! :)

I really could go on and on about the silly and innocent beliefs I had as a child!  I look at my kids now and I realize when I speak to them, they are interpreting what I have to say in the way their little minds can sort it out.  I get frustrated at times because they do not catch on as quickly as I want them to, but after thinking back to my mind as a child I remember how different my thoughts were back then.  I did not analyze everything and I took things exactly the way they sounded.  So now... I get to take a step back and be conscious of how I am influencing my children, even in those small and silly ways!

What are some of the silly thoughts you had as a child?  What are some of the ways you influence your children by the quick things you say, not realizing they could be interpreting it completely wrong?