Thinking

I have been reading through a book called "Sign with Your Baby" by Dr. Joseph Garcia (2006), and I came across a few sentences tucked into the end of a paragraph that stopped me in my tracks.

"Thinking is nothing more than combining and rearranging what is in our memory. The more memories we have, the more raw material we possess to support our thoughts".

Because I was reading this book with my mommy glasses on, my thoughts circled around how this applies to raising children; it helped me to understand why I instinctively want to provide Giovanna with a rich repertoire of experiences as she grows up. I have always wanted to expose her to the richer parts of childhood - museums, music, physical movement and art - but it reminds me to value her exposure to all parts of life, because I want her to be able to form intelligent thoughts about this world and her role in it. While protecting her from things that are harmful, I would love for this growing girl to experience enough that her thinking surpasses idealistic theories and goes straight for things as they were, are and really will be.