I spent the last two days with my grandson, who is almost 11 months old. What a fun, enlightening, and exhausting two days they were too!
I’m luck to have the ability to take time off work when needed so that I can spend time with my grandson. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. It’s such a joy being able to romp around on the floor discovering things that the average adult would overlook. For instance, when is the last time you crawled under a kitchen table and pretended that it was your fort? When was the last time you tasted a dust bunny?
Well, I admit that I didn’t taste the dust bunny, but I did chase my grandson to the safety under his fort a few times today. I’m not talking about a casual crawl, but a full out race. I wonder if all the fitness guru’s know what a great aerobic workout they’re missing by not crawling everywhere? Let me tell you, my grandson is FAST!!! Anyway, back to the dust bunnies… We were investigating an infant’s book – one with the fuzzy bodies of all the animals. I was making all the appropriate animal noises and my grandson was sort of grunting in response, which is how he responds to most things at this stage. Then we would feel the fuzzy bodies and my grandson pulled the fuzz out of the duckie’s body making quite a long string of fuzz. You know what happened to that fuzz don’t you?
“Blech, Blech, yucky, yuck,” – all in an attempt to get my grandson to spit the tail end of the fuzz out of his mouth. Of course that just mad him laugh at Gammy and smack his lips as if to say, nummy num. What a tease he is. But, as all babies do, they put things in their mouths to learn.
I remember my own children doing these sort of things, but I don’t remember looking at the antics of an infant/toddler with such interest in how they learn. They dig their little hands into everything, unafraid of getting dirty. Everything is an adventure. It’s unfortunate that children are told to “grow up.” Every child, as he/she grows should have responsibility, but I wish that they would also be led to explore the world around them with the abandon of that toddler they once were.
I learned a long time ago that God experiences through us. When we’re planning our future life, we choose the lessons and experiences that will teach us the most. God allows us to make the choices for ourselves – just as a parent would do for his child knowing that learning comes from those choices. As parents/grandparents we too can learn from the youngsters around us. If we have the daring – and the energy – we too can experience life to the fullest.
That being said, when was the last time you did something out of your ordinary? When was the last time you explored something? I certainly hope that you experienced and enjoyed your adventure to the fullest – even if it meant tasting the dust bunnies.
Blessings ~ Lisa
