I find
myself learning so much from my grandchildren.
They continue to remind me about appreciating the little things, not
taking anything for granted, enjoying the moment, and showing their love in
their own special way. My perspective
this week is from a grandparent’s point of view, however, it’s also true for
parents. The difference is, as a parent,
I was also working full time and juggling all the demands of young children, a
full time job, supporting Jon with his CU job, and all the other obligations. I didn’t always allow myself to just stop and
enjoy the moment. Now, I can totally
focus on the grandchildren. Please
indulge me with my reflections and hopefully you will be able to reflect on all
your personal experiences with your children and/or grandchildren as well.
This past
weekend, four of the six grandchildren were here for a short time. Zane, 15 months, is so sweet, cuddly, and also
into everything! His curiosity and
prowess to investigate the world around him also means he climbs and explores. Stairs
were the newest challenge. Challenge not
for him as he has no fear, but a challenge for all the adults trying to keep
tabs on him. Putting a chair in the way
of the three steps stopped him only until he saw the rest of the kids climbing
around it. Hmm…try, try, and try again. In most everything Zane did and everything he
saw, his word was, “WOW.” He saw the
eight balloons in the sky Saturday morning, WOW! He connected the sound
of an airplane flying above to that small speck in the sky, WOW!
He loves strawberries and eating them brought another, WOW!
He touched one of the hens and she squawked which brought about a loud, WOW! And all these WOWs were accompanied with a huge smile.
Bria, almost
five, is the one who climbs in bed with us in the morning. She’s awake, ready to chat and tell us all about
her world. WOW! When she saw the
balloons, her reaction was to smile, count all eight, and watch them floating –
mesmerized. WOW! I watched the two of
them and appreciated their different ways of expressing their pleasure. WOW! Walking down the long driveway to get the
paper, holding my hand, Bria says, out of the blue, “Nana, I love you.” And I say to myself, WOW.” Bria loves to, as she
says, be a creator. So I get pieces of
paper cut into various shapes, scotch taped together, with some drawings, just
for me to keep. WOW! (I need to buy stock in
scotch tape.) Bria was the one wanting
to feed the fish and check out the chickens with Poppa. I captured a picture of the two of them walking
back hand in hand. WOW! Bedtime means stories, me laying down for a
few minutes with her, and the usual request to rub her back and sing the “This
Old Man,” song. WOW!
Sophia,
almost nine and in third grade, is becoming a little lady. She’s quiet, processes things by watching
everything, and is also a creator. The
first thing she did was present Bria with a bracelet she had made which was
just like the necklace she had made for herself and was wearing. WOW! The adoring eyes of a five year old to her
nine year old cousin, followed by a thank you, was a WOW moment! The two had a
great time making more creations with of course more scotch tape and LOTS of
scrap pieces. Oh well, watching the two cuddled
on the same chair, working together, having fun, was WOW! Sophia is also a
caregiver. From the birth of her
brother, Ethan, who is now five, to her youngest cousin, Zane, she watches over
them and tries to help. WOW!
She will explain things to Ethan or remind him of something, and with
Zane she waits for him to walk down the hill while the other two are running
off. WOW! After her first week in
third grade, she said she’s making new friends and is enjoying her new
teacher. New things are approached with
some hesitancy and once she has it figured out, she’s all in. WOW! We all approach new situations differently. Hmmm…another
lesson. There’s no right or wrong way, it’s just our
own way. WOW!
Ethan has
started kindergarten. Kindergarten is a big step and Ethan is ready for the
next challenge. He admittedly is THE
best expert on dinosaurs, and he’s not kidding – ask him anything. WOW! (He will be able to teach the class when the
curriculum includes dinosaurs.) T Rex is
the favorite, but he can pronounce all of them. Ethan, is one who mastered the no pedal bike at age three, and transitioned to a regular
bike shortly thereafter. WOW! The high school boys at the skate/bike park
were duly impressed especially when Dad told them he wasn't quite five. WOW!
I admire Ethan. He has some sensory integration difficulties. He now goes to
three sessions a week, and through play, he is learning new ways to understand
how his body reacts to things. WOW!
He’s learning new strategies to use in a variety of situations that may be
challenging now and in the future. WOW! He goes to kindergarten in the morning, and
three days a week has his time with the occupational and physical
therapists. NO labels! No Judgment! WOW! This sweet little boy who has had challenges
is learning to explore a world in a positive and exciting new way. WOW! He is very smart and with all his many
talents the new strategies will help propel him to an even more impactful level. WOW!
This spring
and summer, we've been able to spend time with Teagan and Nyelle. It’s hard to be 14 hours away, but we make
sure we’re there every 6-8 weeks. Michelle
is fabulous about sending us videos and pictures of the girls so that
definitely helps. Teagan, age two (going
on 16 according to her parents), is already practicing shooting hoops, getting
her defensive stance, shows us her “fast feet” and wearing a whistle around her
neck says, “I coach, Mommy!” WOW!
For those of you who don’t know, Michelle played basketball at CU and
currently is the head girls bb coach at the local high school. Daddy is the
head football coach at Missouri Baptist.
This little one WILL have sports somewhere in her future. What I love is she LOVES it. WOW! She’s like a little sponge with everything
around her. I love watching everything
she tackles. WOW! One of Teagan’s
favorite past times is putting together puzzles. Whether they are the hands on puzzles or the
ones on the IPad, she is TOTALLY focused.
The dogs may bark, Nyelle may start to cry, it doesn't matter. Teagan is focused on a task. WOW! She figures out where the pieces go very
quickly, 30 piece puzzles are done in only a couple minutes. WOW! If one isn't quite right she puts it off to
the side and comes back to it later. WOW!
Daddy has been gone a lot with his first season of being the head
football coach. Teagan decided to dress
up for Daddy when he got home – her idea and her choice of outfit. WOW! She had on her sparkly shoes, beads around
her neck, and a bow in her hair. WOW!
Whether it be “moving the cows,” cheering Mommy’s basketball team on
during a game, visiting Daddy at one of his practices, swinging at the park,
going down the slide, or showing her dairy calf for the first time at the
fair, Teagan is “all in.” WOW!
Nyelle, even
at 3 ½ months brings us all such joy. A
smile begets a smile. WOW! Teagan can get her to laugh which gets
everyone laughing. WOW! Each new event such as
holding her head up or sitting up more on her own are all those little signs
that she’s learning and growing up too. WOW! Nyelle goes everywhere and seems to just “go
with the flow.” WOW!
Three and a
half months to nine years old, all these little ones are great examples of what
life is all about. It’s all those WOW moments! It’s appreciating the beauty of our world,
learning new things, realizing we each have our own strengths and areas to work
on, communication can be as simple as a smile or a laugh, and being an expert
in something is special and should be celebrated. It’s the little things that make a difference
in our day, we all approach new situations in different ways and when given the
opportunity and time we will adjust, thinking about others like Sophia’s gift
to Bria, helping someone up when they fall, doing something to put a smile on
someone else’s face, it’s working hard, staying focused, and never giving
up.
I wish you a
blessed week and many WOW
moments.
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