There is something I’ve been sitting with quietly.
Not everyone loves children.
And that is okay.
Some people choose a different life
a quieter home,
a different kind of responsibility,
a different rhythm.
That is their right.
But what I don’t understand…
is the need to disturb those who chose differently.
To watch children playing
safely, freely, joyfully
and still find a reason to complain.
To call authorities not out of danger,
but out of discomfort.
And yet, when eyes arrive to see the truth,
there is nothing but children being children.
I chose this life.
I prayed for it.
I longed for it.
I welcomed it.
And I will not silence it.
I will not cage laughter.
I will not dim their voices.
I will not teach them that joy must be hidden to make others comfortable.
Children are meant to move.
To explore.
To grow into their voices, their limbs, their freedom.
within safety, within love.
They are softness in a world that hardens too quickly.
They remind me of something pure,
something unguarded,
something real.
And I choose to protect that.
This is not resistance.
This is not conflict.
This is simply a boundary.
Live your life.
Make your choices.
Find your peace in the way that fulfills you.
But allow others the same grace.
Leave and let live and let softness survive.
“Gratitude for what remains soft in a world that tries to harden you.
Let children be children.
By Joan Roberts
