Before we enter into this week’s batch of madness, we’ll take just a moment of pride to share that my Grand-saw Gabriel, a.k.a. the Tot, has completed his first year of education with honors … sniffle…they grow up so fast.
We couldn’t be prouder… well, that’s not entirely true. If he developed super powers and saved he world or discovered the cure for cancer in his sand box that would probably justify a state of more prouder-ness… but graduating from grade zero is still pretty awesome, too! Besides, a Kindergarten education is apparently all he needs to school his grandfather (that’d be me).
Several weeks ago on a psychological, as well as emotional level; this writer was having a terrible, no good, very bad, suck to the tenth power day. On a scale of one to ten this was a negative 746—which is just one scale above a plane crash. Normally I can keep my emotions in check around little folk, as all good parental figures should. Not that we should shelter our children, but we should try our best to give them a positive outlook on life. But even the best of parentals slip at times and the pent-up misery of that day got the better of me.
Sitting down beside him on the love seat for our video game time, as he was happily handing me the controller, I looked at him with absolute miserable resolve and blurted out, “The world is terrible place!” Immediately Lil Red (a.k.a. Grammie) shouted from the kitchen, “Don’t tell him that!” Good advice, but the look on his face held my full attention. It was a strained mixture of defiance, heartache and horror but his verbal response was filled with absolute unquestionable certainty, “No it’s not!”
There are moments in life where we achieve levels of total clarity. The world stops turning, time stands still and we truly take it all in, a millennia’s worth of awareness in a millisecond. In this instance, as I looked into his face, I saw the world through his eyes.
“Our world is an amazing place and everything is awesome, just like in the Lego movie. It’s cool when you’re part of the team and we’re all on the same team! Everybody should be friends and play together. Our world is full of good people and nobody should feel bad or be left out. The bad people go to jail, which is in some far off place where they can’t do bad things. When they learn to be good and play nice, the police let them out. Policemen are your friends and they will help you if something bad happens…so will firemen and teachers and everybody because we should all be helpers.
All you need to have a great time is a handful of action-joes and a friend or a water hose and someone to spray you. And when they’re spraying, aim it high in the sky and it’ll make a rainbow. How pretty! It’s OK to think and say things are pretty, and cute and beautiful even if you’re a boy, because they are. Our world is full of pretty, cute, beautiful, amazingly wonderful things and we should all be able to see, enjoy and share them with everybody. Magic is real and it’s all around us. The tooth fairy and Santa Claus are just as much a part of it as lightening bugs and baby birds.
Everyone should fist bump and high five when they meet because that’s how we should greet our friends to make the occasion special and it’ll make them feel cool. It’s nice to make others feel cool and good about themselves! We should never say things that might hurt others feelings or make them feel bad because we just shouldn’t. That’s the best reason, because we all really know better than to be mean to each other. When someone’s having a bad day, hugs and snacks make everything better.
Our world is a wonderful place because the sun came up and we get to spend another day on it and in it together. We should all smile and be happy all day long just because of that. We can share the whole day or miss each other when we don’t. We don’t have to worry, though, because when the day ends the ones who love us most will be there. With goodnight hugs, kisses, a story and a song. And we’ll tell them we love them to the back of the moon and bigger than Batman because that’s the biggest love of all.
And right now, at this very moment, I’m excited and happy to share this afternoon and play fun video games with my Pappy, my best buddy in the whole world, and there’s nothing terrible about that.”
Though it would be nice, I am not delusional enough to believe that this sweet child’s innocent view of the world will last forever. Eventually the world out there will get hold of him and the reality of it will set in. However I do believe that we all hold onto some of this innocence and that the world would be a better place if we all let it show through reality’s surface a little more.
Yes, he will grow up, but for now and until then I intend to spend and share as much time in his world as possible. So with a hug, a fist-bump, and an apology for just, “having a bad day later” (which is instantly understood and forgiven) and it’s time for a little gaming. We’ll laugh and play the afternoon away and when it’s over we’ll bid the world goodnight with a love that’s even bigger than Batman.
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Hope to hear from ya, until then try and stay focused. See ya!
