How High Is The Sky?
Posted: Monday, August 04, 2008
by Mark Parsec
Wordcasters
It was a beautiful Spring morning in 1964 and I was all of six years old. I was following my Father like a shadow as he walked around the yard. I was his little man. I was his boy. He was Dad, my Hero, my Teacher and my Friend. I looked up to him in every way.
As we walked and talked I queried him about everything. I had a ravenous appetite for knowledge and I just knew that my Dad understood all that there was to know. I asked him why the grass was green and why the sky was blue. I asked him why the flowers drank water and not milk. I asked him where the stars went when the sun came up and where the birds went when they flew away.
Finally, I asked my Father, "How high is the sky?"
I had just been given a book by my Grandma Elsie about Space and Astronauts. I knew that outer space was out there somewhere... but where? How far was it?
"How high is the sky, Daddy?" I asked again.
My Father said, "Shut up, Son, you ask too many questions." Then he turned and walked away from me.
Suddenly, my whole world collapsed. My Father had rejected me. My Hero had failed me. My Teacher had neglected me. My Friend had abandoned me. I no longer felt like his little man, nor his little boy. I was beneath him. I was flawed. I was broken. I asked too many questions. I needed to shut up.
My heart sank within me as I watched him walk away to tend to his business. I do not believe that he ever knew how much that one statement impacted me at that tender young age. But, the effect upon my relationship with my Father was immense. Perhaps, the relationship that I thought we had was nothing more than a fantasy, a shallow hope, an illusion.
Parents remember that your little ones look up to you. You are their heroes. Your words are the power of life and death to their emotional and mental health. The words "Shut up" can kill them a thousand times over in their minds. Love them tenderly and let your words be gentle and seasoned with hope and encouragement. Remember it is the little things to those little children that means so very, very much to them.
If your child asks you a question and you don't know the answer tell them the truth. Just say, "I don't know. But, I'll find out for you." When it comes to your child's future... the sky is not the limit!
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Excellent points Mark. Our children need the encouragement today and always. I enjoyed your story and I am sorry about your feelings about your dad. It also reminded me so much of the many questions the boys would always ask. In retrospect, I found it to be cute and at times intelligent on their part.Thank you, Michelle. Can you tell me how high the sky is?
Hi Mark. The thickness of the earth's atmosphere is about 1000 KM. There is no hard and fast number, however, because it just keeps getting thinner and thinner. But those who know estimate that there are no measurable gases at about 1000 KM. I suppose a good answer for a child would be to ask them, "How high can you reach?" and then tell them that is how high the sky is. Or you could say that it starts right at the tops of their heads.It's a very sad thing that your dad couldn't just say that he didn't know or at least that he didn't know how to answer your question. You are right when you say that it is the "little" things, the things parents hardly give any thought to, that make the biggest difference in a child's life.The silver lining to your experience is that you learned a valuable lesson from it and can share it with others.Thanks,DianneThank you, Dianne. I was wondering who would be the first person to come up with the answer to that question. Bravo! Somehow I am not suprised that it was you. Thank you also for your observation on the silver lining.
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