Dear friends,
I imagine each of us marks the passage of time differently. I mark time by how fast my 4 grandchildren are growing, and not just in physical terms. My two oldest grandchildren (ages 15 and 12) are now taller than me (okay, so it doesn’t take a lot to overcome grandma at 5 feet tall!) What most interests me is how children grow as reflected in their un-filtered speech and thought patterns. I’ll give a couple of examples.
One of my favorite night time activities when I’m babysitting my youngest grand-children is to tell them a bedtime story that I’ve made up. I particularly like telling stories that I think appeal to their sense of fun with a light dose of values/morals thrown in. On this particular evening, I was waxing eloquent about a pig named Priscilla who lived alone in her castle and was determined to protect her little village from a mean dragon. Priscilla is not an ordinary pig – she has green and pink stripes all over her body and eats pumpkin ice cream for breakfast.
At a critical point in the story, Priscilla has to locate a magic sword in order to rid the village of the mean dragon once and for all. In my most dramatic voice, I asked, “Oh where, oh where will Priscilla find the sword?” My youngest grandson, age 6, said, “It’s easy. All she has to do is to go to Amazon and she can get it the next day!” I’m speechless, also crushed! After I recovered from my shock, I said in my sternest voice that Amazon did not exist in the time of dragons. It of course, got me thinking about how my grandchildren apprehend the world today and how differently they will solve tomorrow’s problems with tools I may not even know about.
In the meantime, my grand-daughter, age 8, looks me thoughtfully, and said, “I think you have to organize your story differently. First of all, pigs don’t come in pink and green, and they don’t eat pumpkin ice cream for breakfast!” (I can see that at this early stage, a career in creative writing is not for her.) I dutifully thanked my granddaughter for this insight and kissed them both good-night!
At age 75, time has an interesting way of manifesting itself through my grandchildren who will doubtless continue to surprise/befuddle/intrigue/amuse me! With my best wishes to you and yours for a healthy Thanksgiving!
Best,
Cora
