How To Live Life: Grammie Lessons
Recently returned from being with my son and his two kiddos for an adventurous two weeks of 1 y o + 3 yo immersion.
We had some super fun times!! We had some challenging ones. {EVERYBODY got sick} For certain there were memories made and for this Grammie, lessons learned.
My grandbabies are 3 yo {CJ} and 1 yo {D}.
CJ likes dresses, the twirlier the better!, all animals, climbing on things, hanging off of bars, yoga at night, she is very inquisitive and also brilliant. And she loves her baby brother.
D is a lover of life! He notices people. He smiles, a LOT! He likes wheels and vehicles. He LOVVVVES his older sister.
It occurred to me, after watching many many interactions with these two, that I was witnessing a life analogy right before my eyes; whether we were snuggling on the couch, playing at the playground or loading in and out of car seats.
Here is my analogy.
CJ= life
D=How I want to react and live my life.
Because these two were born 21 months apart they are very much apart of each other’s life. Almost together 24/7…everything except sleep which sometimes happens together.
As CJ is three, she of course, has the upper hand in most situations. She has more life experience by 21 importantly fundamental months, you see. She is stronger, taller and more agile. She has a larger knowledge base and she has learned to use all of these to her advantage.
Oftentimes CJ is kind to baby D. In fact, she brought this Grammie to tears on one occasion as she sang an original lullabye to her baby brother to try to calm his sad tears. There were times, and it seemed like quite a few times, where she would topple her brother over, take a toy away, jump in front of him in his pursuits, attempt to lure others’ attention from D to her. You get the picture.
What does D do when sister is amiable? He beams! The biggest smiles ever. They share a lot of giggles and fun times.
What does D do when CJ dishes out the tough stuff. A significant percentage of the time he jumps right back up or looks for an alternate activity apparently unaffected. Other times he cries or shouts out his disapproval. But one thing he ALWAYS does is recover. His tears, disappointment etc seem so short lived; it is somewhat amazing to witness.
And he is so eager to receive her affections. He forgives without even a thought, it seems.
Herein lies my life lesson.
I want to experience life the way that D experiences CJ.
Sure, sometimes….a LOT of time life seems to offer us set backs; things that don’t go the way we anticipated them to. Instead of fighting the reality that I have an older sister who likes to tip me over, I’d like to be like D and be so enamored with the thought of loving my life that no matter what it dishes out…I can recover. And not only recover but recover with an enthusiasm for life that can only be matched by the love of an adoring younger sibling. The love of life {and sister} is constant.
Another lesson I learned from D is that he DOES process his emotions…on. the. spot. He feels it and out it comes.
He doesn’t waste any time or energy judging said emotion or even finding the words to describe them {words are way too limited at this point}. The fact that he is experiencing the emotion doesn’t need to mean anything. It just is.
Interestingly, the exact same behavior dished out by said sister on some days may be met with little to no emotion whereas if D is tired, hungry or not feeling well, the emotions spring forth a-plenty and he seems okay with that as well. It just is.
In summary:
We can love our life even if it offers us set backs. {In fact, we should just start expecting them}
LIfe loves us. Negative experiences do not change the fact that our life springs forth from love, always.
When we feel an emotion, the sooner we are able to express, experience or feel it all the way through the more resilient we will become.
An open heart is able to feel all of life’s emotions; from open mouth guffaws {Which D is very good at!} to big alligator tears. That is the way I want to live…with all my heart.
Thank you to CJ and D for the life lessons learned. I recognize this is only the beginning…
xoGrammie.
