You know that old saying, that you should walk in someone else's shoes to really understand what that person may be going through? Well, you may say the same exact words to several different people, and all those people may interpret it in a completely different way (that's how misunderstandings get started), depending on their own experiences or just where they are in life at that point.
For example, my kids read the "Twas' the night before Christmas" book every night in December. There's a part that says: "The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow, gave the luster of mid-day to objects below." I never understood that (cause really, it cannot be that bright in the middle of the night, right?!) till we were coming home from a friend's house after dinner, and didn't even have to turn on our headlights because the moonlight reflecting on the snow, made everything just that bright. OK, when we got to the main road we did finally turn it on, but not before we surprised a heard of 8 deer/does grazing on a field nearby. It's really that bright!
Another good one is from the "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" song. You know that part that says "And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again". Well, before motherhood, I always thought it was kind of mean for moms and dads to be that anxious to get their kids back to school. Let the little buggers enjoy their break. Now, however... I can so relate to the feeling :-)
And, leaving Christmas thoughts behind, something one of my Jazzercize instructors from Texas said one day. There's this routine we do to a Sheryl Crow song, Soak Up the Sun, and at the very end of the song she says: "I’m gonna soak up the sun, Got my 45 on, So I can rock on..." Her college age daughter asked why the singer needed to put sun block on to be able to rock and roll at all?! If you are of a certain age, you may hear "Got my 45 on" and think of a vinyl record. If you are of a different certain age, sunblock might be what makes more sense to you... And you could both be right, if, say, the rock and roll concert you're going to is during the day in the middle of the summer.
Know what I mean??
