Adult Emotions and a Child's Perspective: Thoughts on Spending Christmas with Family

Today, on Christmas, our family went to visit my mother-in-law's house. The warm living room was filled with smiles, the sound of children's laughter echoed, and we were having a good time as always. During that peaceful moment of family gathering, as I was casually looking at my smartphone, a topic in the online news caught my eye.

It was reported that a video of a man, who appeared to be alone, shouting at a couple on a train had been posted and was becoming a hot topic. Since it happened in a crowded train car, the video also showed the confusion of the surrounding passengers.

It was my eldest son who reacted to that news.

"Why is he angry?"

I was momentarily at a loss for words at the question from my fifth-grade son. I felt that explaining such emotional nuances was a bit too complex. However, I couldn't ignore his interest either.

"Well... when you become an adult, you might feel lonely being alone, and seeing people together might make you feel bad..."

While I answered that way, it was a kind of excuse to try and change the subject. However, my eldest son pressed further.

"But if he's going to say it on the train, there are other people around, right? If he's going to say it, couldn't he just wait until he gets off the train?"

At that sharp observation, I couldn't help but nod in my heart, thinking, "You are absolutely right." However, it is also a characteristic of children at this age that conversations don't end so easily. My eldest son, looking very curious, kept pushing.

"Why would he get that angry?"

Here, I gathered my thoughts a little and tried to answer again.

"When you become an adult, there are all sorts of circumstances. You might have stress piling up in your daily life, or sad things might have happened... when things like that pile up, I think there are times when you just can't help but want to get angry."

On top of that, I added that he shouldn't judge things from a one-sided perspective.

"But, this story might have been caused by something that happened before. Maybe there was some trouble on the train... it might be too early to decide that only that person is in the wrong."

Then, my eldest son fell silent for a while, looking as if he were thinking about something. Seeing his profile, I felt a little relieved. I thought that if some kind of realization was born within him, that alone was enough.

Time spent with family is not just fun; it is also a valuable opportunity to share important values like this. Children, in particular, learn a lot from small daily events and possess a pure perspective that adults often tend to forget.

Looking back on the conversation with my eldest son, I looked up at the Christmas night sky. Thinking about how this moment spent with my family would remain within them in the future, I felt my heart warm up just a little.