{"id":979,"date":"2012-09-12T14:09:23","date_gmt":"2012-09-12T18:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lifeasaconsciousmom\/?p=979"},"modified":"2012-09-12T14:10:47","modified_gmt":"2012-09-12T18:10:47","slug":"6-things-we-can-learn-from-glue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeasaconsciousmom\/2012\/09\/12\/6-things-we-can-learn-from-glue\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Things We Can Learn From Glue"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Caidin got a bag full of foam bits and beads at a birthday party. It\u2019s been sitting in our \u2018catch-all\u2019 draw for several months now, but a few nights ago (as a bedtime delay tactic) he got it out and asked me if he could put it together. I asked him what he would need to do it and he said \u2018just some glue.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Ok, but this is your project,\u2019 I said. \u2018Ok, Mom.\u2019 He worked through piecing together quite a bit before he called me for some help.<\/p>\n

When I got to the construction scene, I found some green object completely saturated in glue. It made me laugh. Kids love<\/em> to use a lot of glue. I said, \u2018well, first of all, this is too much glue. You only need a little for things to stick.\u2019 \u2018Really?\u2019 he asked incredulously. He was also upset because the green foam was barely visible through the massive coating of glue. I suggested he get a damp paper towel so that we could wipe off most of the glue. When I told him that the glue would dry clear, he was surprised.<\/p>\n

I started thinking, \u2018we haven\u2019t played with glue enough I guess.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s amazing though, Caidin has this reaction to many things from tooth brushing to face washing to glue using, things just seem \u2018new\u2019 to him, things that seem to be just second nature to others. In any event, it\u2019s both an endearing and sometimes mind boggling aspect of who Caidin is.<\/p>\n

Once we got the glue cleaned off, it became clear to me that the foam pieces were a frog. I showed Caidin how to put just a dab of glue on the pieces to get them to stick and eventually the whole project was finished. Then it had to sit overnight to dry.<\/p>\n

In the morning Caidin was eager to check his project. As he surveyed his creation, he exclaimed, \u2018You\u2019re right, this glue does dry clear!\u2019<\/p>\n

I chuckled to myself at his surprise and could hear him one day sharing with his own kid that white glue indeed does dry clear.<\/p>\n

This morning I took a Boot Camp exercise class for the first time in a century, or at least it felt like it had been that long. In between squats and lifts and hoping I wasn\u2019t going to die on the studio floor, I found myself thinking about the lessons Caidin learned from glue that night.<\/p>\n

Here they are:<\/p>\n