Yesterday, Bryce came home from school concerned. He wanted to know what second hand smoke is. I did my best to explain that it is the smoke that a person inhales when he or she is not the person actually smoking, and that even if you aren't the person with the cigarette in your mouth you can still be affected by second hand smoke.
Then Bryce burst into tears.
I was confused. I had no idea what was going on. Calmly and diplomatically, Aubrey explained to me that on the way home the kids had walked past a man that was smoking and they decided to hold their breath as they went by so that they wouldn't have to breathe the smoke (I can just see the guy roll his eyes as my little ones suck in a gigantic breath and prepare to walk past him on the sidewalk...hope he wasn't offended by my sweethearts...and if he was, oh well, guess he shouldn't smoke in the first place). Unfortunately, Bryce didn't quite make it past before he needed a breath so he ended up breathing in some of the smoke. He could taste it immediately, and now he was sure he was going to die an agonizing death of lung cancer and have emphysema and a stroke and who knows what else (thanks so much anti-smoking ads...no, I know they are good...except those stupid vulture ones...what is up with those?).
Anyway, so Bryce and I had a nice little chat, once he calmed down, about how one breath of smoke would probably not condemn him to a slow and painful death, and that I was pretty sure he would live to see tomorrow (that's today...he did make it). He has such a pure heart and such innocence, I hope, in some ways, that he never loses that.
I am grateful for the little smiles that I get to have in moments like this. There is no better life than this.
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