My mouth was open even as a child.  My parents used to tell me stories of the trouble it used to get me into.  Every time they approached one of those “situations” where their eldest daughter would be sure to ask one of “those” questions, they told me they would suddenly go into a cold sweat, know they would be put in an awkward situation.  Although I see that living with few filters is a great gift to have, many others, including my catholic school didn’t always see it that way.  When thinking with pride that I was actually being helpful to a teacher by correcting her pronunciation of a neighbor’s name, I was devastated that,  instead of an enthusiastic thank-you,  she made me stick my head in the desk to suffer the humiliation of Eve.  I couldn’t believe it, I had raised my hand…I had said excuse me Miss….It was the beginning of a slow realization that adults hate to be corrected…especially by children.  Since then, I have always been aware of the unabashed way that children speak their minds and how refreshing that is.  I don’t believe many people say what they really need to say in any given moment.  Yes, you can say that it is all in the preservation of another’s feelings, but is it?  In the long run isn’t it better to speak your mind instead of holding it in and carry resentments around?   Perhaps we would retain some of that innocence we had n childhood if we were more honest with each other.