This week, our daughter visited us with her two children for a few days. We invited our other daughter and son-in-law over for St. Patrick’s Day dinner. After a tasty dinner of Irish stew, green jello, rolls, and shamrock butter cookies, the boys went outside to hit a golfball around in the melting piles of snow. The girls stayed in and chatted around the dinner table. Our granddaughter sat in front of us, the brightest centerpiece ever to adorn our table. My two daughters and I began to sing songs with her. Granddaughter acted as our conductor and sang along with us. Her favorite song that day was “Happy Birthday.” We sang the song many times. Granddaughter’s bright blue eyes shone with her cheeks puffed up in a smile, looking as though she was happy to be the centerpiece. Once the song was finished, Granddaughter “blew out” the battery-operated candle, with her mom’s perfect timing of flipping the off switch. The minute the candle was “blown out,” Granddaughter immediately said, “Again.” The candle got switched on, and we started the song from the beginning. Singing the song many times didn’t seem like a broken record. We were happy to follow her instructions and enjoyed each little vignette.
Our singing went on until our conductor was ready to explore other opportunities. The first thing she found was the bottom of the candle and how the switch operated. Once she figured that out, we were off to the other room where all the toys waited. None of us wondered how she managed to wrap us all around her little finger. We followed our little conductor to see where her curiosity would lead us.
While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about. ~Angela Schwindt
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