Nate Hyde: Arts & Crafts, Children, and the Art of Giving

I have this great party trick I can do. I tell people I’m a childcare worker, working primarily with children aged between 5 and 8. It catches them off guard every time without fail. I don’t know if it’s because I’m four times the size of any normal child or because as the pictures clearly demonstrate I resemble some messy mix of wookie and man. Either way, I’m just not the ‘type’. I don’t love to do crafts; I hate them. As a child, I frequently cut up my own art projects in pure frustration. I don’t particularly enjoy sports. As a child I spent most of my time pretending I was Kung Fu fighting on the soccer field instead of, you know, pretending to play soccer like everyone else. The fact that I work with children can be incredibly puzzling, even to myself. I am devoid of some innate affection for those tiny people called children, with their mini fingers and large farts. Oh yeah, just a heads up, children fart, a lot.

The reason I say all of this is because, I actually, and for the first time in my life, love my job. It has been a year since I started my stint at a childcare program on the Westside of Vancouver and I have loved all of it. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s bad days, all the time. In fact as I’m writing this just as I’m coming down from one. I often find myself entirely drained and demolished after even four hours with the kids. During the summer I would see them for nine and a half hour days, four days a week. On that fourth day I spent a large portion of my time considering how much glue I would have to ingest before I would become sick, therefore leaving work early.

I’ve been called mean names by little kids. A little girl once told me I was only ‘half-handsome’, because I didn’t resemble her father who was (and still is from all reports) the most beautiful man in the world. I have had children scream at me, make completely unreasonable demands, refuse first aid when it was needed, and have avoided several traps set for me by malevolent little girls. There are many days I come home and question what appears to be a human desire to repopulate, reflecting on the sort of beasts that two people are capable of creating.

Despite all of this, I have never lost hope. There is something about children, a certain sense of confidence that I find completely bewildering. I’m not talking about false confidence, where they truly believe they know more about Pokémon than me (I’m finally willing to accept that). I’m talking about the way they see the world and the values they have. Most children, I would propose, do truly believe in sharing and being friendly. A lot of people would write this off as an affect of being innocent, something which is lost as they travel further and further throughout the school system (one of the truly most frightening environments in the world).

I will accept that some of this is related to innocence, but refused to accept all of it is. I have witnessed moments where children have given in the truest, most genuine way. I have watched friends defend each others’ namesake simply based on the fact that they are friends and that’s what a friend does. I’ve seen children fearlessly stand up to bullies. I have remained silent, as children have scribbled together beautiful secret pictures for me. I never act surprised, but I am always touched. All children are capable of giving in a way that holds no weight, with no expectations or private agendas. You can not only see this in their friendships or gifts, but in countless other ways.

It’s this practice, the art of giving with a full heart that I find breathtaking about children. I don’t see it everyday, by any means. Mostly I see ugly crafts and smell-bad farts. But when I do see it, when I see a child extend their hand to comfort or support their friend, I have a hard time holding back my smile. They have inspired me to give in the same manner. That is the challenge I am currently presenting myself in life. Like them, I’m working everyday at it. I’m letting myself open up, showing the affection and love I share for the people in my life. I want to not talk to my best friend for a day, and completely forget about it the next. I want to demand a hug from everyone when they leave, no matter how well I know them or not. Most importantly, I want to give from my heart, not for any benefit but because that’s what people do.