sticking my tongue out

I have a couple of friends who sometimes stick their tongues out at children, esp in church. From the first time I spotted this I loved it. The contradiction to church being a stuffy boring place where you're not allowed to do fun/irreverent things, as if God were any more in church or any less present anywhere else. The contradiction that adults are stuffy boring creatures who don't know how to be silly. The recognition that for some of us church/life can sometimes need a bit of livening up for adults and kids alike.
Last night I finished my counselling children book. There was an ace bit on how we can in just tiny moments, help pull little ones out of feeling stuck in their stuff. So giving them a grin when they're screaming in a supermarket trolley, or when you spy a child who has clearly been stuck in the back of a car for for too long in their opinion! The author writes of how we can't in those situations offer them space to deal with their feelings, but can provide a resource to get their attention out of what was pulling them down. I've not really thought of "attention out" in this way but will definitely do so from now on.

We can of course also be allies to the harrassed parent - I do this sometimes if I see a parent clearly having a bad day.

Workshop today - I wonder if I'll ever reach a point when I'm not nervous beforehand? Early work start for me these next 3 days - looking forwards to saturday which currently has nothing at all written in it!! Meanwhile let's see what opportunities there are for sticking my tongue out at both young ones and not so young ones who need reminding that all is actually good...