There’s
something magical about watching a person’s personality take form right before
your eyes. Over the past twenty-one
months, I’ve had the privilege of being able to do that with my granddaughter,
Kai. What a spirited little girl! Reminds me of her mother through and through.
It’s
been amazing, as a grandparent, to be relaxed enough to watch the unfolding of
my granddaughter’s development. Didn’t
really get to do that with my kids since there were four of them spaced close
together. Also, as the parent, I was
responsible for all of my children’s needs.
But as a grandparent, I get to enjoy the fun parts without the added
stresses that accompany being a parent.
As
such, I get to chuckle when my granddaughter’s strong will shines through, me
remembering similar sparks of independence from her mother when she was
young. It’s a treat to watch my daughter
interact with Kai. She displays such
patience. Not that she doesn’t lose her
cool. She does. But my daughter’s ability to reason with my
granddaughter is inspiring. Through that
consistent reasoning, I’ve had the benefit of watching my Kai grow into a
self-assured little person who’s quite capable of making her own decisions
thank you very much.
LOL.
When
the first dawning awareness of the impact Kai had on her universe began to set
in, it was fun to watch the spark of understanding light her eyes. I could almost hear the wheels of her brain
turning at high speed when she began to connect cause and effect.
Now,
it’s a real delight to watch my granddaughter pause in the middle of an act and
think through how things will turn out, depending on what her next move might
entail. There are times, despite Kai
knowing better, the stubborn side of her boldly charges forward, leading her
down paths that might better be avoided.
Other times, she’ll change course of action for more positive
outcomes. But the biggest treat is to
watch Kai’s sense of humor and glee at being alive blossom to their fullest.
Here’s
an example. Last night, my daughter had
to interrupt my granddaughter and me playing to give her a bath. But as soon as Kai’s bath was over, she
wanted to rejoin me. So, wrapped in
nothing but the blue shark towel that transforms her head into that of a shark
and drapes to wrap around the rest of her body, she came rushing into my
office, a big grin on her face. Her mom
was right behind her, also smiling.
On
cue, my granddaughter, who believes the special shark towel transforms her into
a monster, was asked by her mom to tell me what sound a monster made. A devilish grin of delight lit my
granddaughter’s face as she suspected what my response would be. Then she let out a mighty roar. Her mom and I giggled, and my granddaughter
laughed so hard her eyes crinkled shut.
Then her mom asked Kai to show me what was under her towel. The devilish grin reappeared, only bigger
this time. Then in true flasher form, my
granddaughter whipped open her towel, revealing her nakedness. We three laughed while my granddaughter,
pleased with herself, streaked around my office, flashing and then covering
herself with the shark towel.
Not
too many months back, Kai wouldn’t have had the ability to connect and predict
what all our reactions would be to her simple gestures. How she had the power to make us laugh at such
small things. But now she does and
delights in using that new skill to its fullest, revealing in the process what
a playful personality she has.
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