It was supposed to be Bella’s day, and for her 6th birthday she certainly did celebrate both with her school friends at a Hungry Jacks lunch, then with the extended family later in the day. Grandson Zandar had other ideas though, so to join in the celebratory mood and get in on the act, borrowed his big sister’s dress ups and was adamant he was a princess.
With music playing, off he whirled into pink dizziness, living the moment, oblivious to the constraints of gender stereotyping. Wore the dress for the rest of the day, wasn’t a simple job extracting him from it to get him into his PJs.
Bella played mum to her new little twin cousins, relishing the cuddles and being very responsible with them. Zandar on the other hand didn’t want to give Brodie back after his cuddle, he’s definitely not into sharing at the moment, and had to be extricated from the baby as well, much to his indignation.
Amidst all the new presents and girlie paraphernalia, the 1960s dress up wig brought by her Uncle Kris went on everyone but Bella, there was no way she was putting that on, I mean, really, it wasn’t pink, just what was Kris thinking.
I’m continually fascinated watching my grandchildren as they grow and develop, seeing bewilderment become triumph as they achieve significant milestones, be it socially, physically, emotionally or academically. Seeing their personalities emerge and wondering how they become who they are is always an intriguing process.
Time passes all too soon, and one of the greatest gifts we can offer our children is permission to be a child. As adults we can see only too readily in retrospect how our own spontaneity and sense of wonder goes missing as we supposedly ‘grow up’ and assume more important responsibilities. Little wonder we crave moments of respite from the daily grind to rejuvenate our spirits, and pursue creative outlets to fulfill our need for self expression.
Grow up we must, but nurturing all of who we are is not always a simple undertaking. The spirit of childhood shouldn’t be left behind as we grow beyond those early years, and re-experiencing it through our own children and grandchildren is not only a lasting investment in our relationships with them, but a blessing for us as we dare to seek out new adventures for ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment