After spending a week with three grandchildren under age five, I am still reeling. Not from making mac and cheese at least once a day or losing fifteen games of Zingo (on purpose) or getting up when the little ones coughed through the night. I am reeling at the wonder of it all.
The two-year-olds motored their cars across the tile, then jumped off to tackle us behind the knees with unexpected hugs. They squealed at the butterflies that flew around their heads at Butterfly World, at the misty waterfall they could run through, and at the birds that stayed on their hands drinking a sugar syrup. They clung to the pole of the carousel horse, begging for another ride in their abbreviated, "NO GO, more please!"
Their four-year-old sister insisted on seeing every live show at Dreher Park Zoo, from the wild birds to the croc she could touch. With bright sapphire eyes, pig tails, and an ever-ready smile, she stood to recite the pledge of allegiance at a Christmas concert and yelled good-bye to us at the airport, "I'll miss you, grandma and grandpa!"
It's not just innocence adults lose (and why wouldn't we?). It's the resilency. Kids bounce back - in minutes, if not seconds. Scrapes on two knees hurt, but getting back in the pool was more important. Aging makes the consequences of our actions more life-altering. The lesson I learned from the kids: get back to basics.
Chelsea Cain's essay in the N.Y. TIMES BOOK REVIEW section December 2, 2012, talks about belonging to two writers' groups - one for distinguished authors and one for seven-year-olds. She describes the process of writing (stories for the seven-year-olds) and then reading before the group. In the case of the adult group, I can relate to the gut-wrenching that takes place before reading my piece. In fact, more than once it has crossed my mind to leave before the leader called my name.
Chelsea points out that the seven-year-olds, on the other hand, can't wait to read their stories aloud. "They instinctively offer praise before going in for the kill." Writing can be frustrating and demeaning. Try bringing a memoir into a writer's group! Kids don't know yet that everything they write is part memoir. According to Chelsea, they cry "because they lost their pencil...or because someone wants to sit next to someone else." About the important things - certainly not about their writing.
Innocence, resilency, and perspective - I lost them somewhere along the way. Spent a few days with the grandkids and found them again!
