Hello Dear Ones!

We spent a good part the day with our sons, daughter-in-law, and our grandchildren yesterday. Ah, the sweet joy, blessings and innocence of children. One is two years and seven months old; the other 8 months of age. Where the older boy has an exuberance of energy, creativity and desire to be the center of attention – of which he is always indulged from each and every adult in turn – the younger boy is an observer of everything his older sibling does.

Totally opposite in all presently-known aspects of their wee beings, the little fellow watches and waits till he knows he can do something … then there is no trial and error, he merely decides to do it and does! The older boy, as first borns all over the world do, went through the try it and fail until finally one day tries something and meets with success.

Where do you fall into the family hierarchy of children and siblings? Are you a first born, last born or somewhere in the middle? Often-times it makes a difference in how each of us deal with the various aspects of life and living. A first-born is often determined, to the point of being stubborn, with anything new – especially if it is something that is empowered with an inner passion. Determination, I think it might be called. (Sounds better than stubbornness, don’t you think?)

A last born child watches all his or her older siblings make the mistakes and just knows at an inner and innate level what can and will work, and just goes ahead and does it!

Yet the middle child sees the variances between both siblings and becomes uncertain as to which method is best for them. They try both methods with good and bad results on all fronts. Depending upon the extent of success or failure, it can be rather detrimental to that child’s future to have met with repeated failure to the point of not even bothering to attempt anything of value in life.

Sure, I’m generalizing. I’m a first born. We do that well!

The eldest of our two grandsons is bold – physically & mentally. He has an innate spiritual trust in life and in those around him. Sweet innocence. May he retain this over time and into adulthood.

The youngest is secure in what he knows. He knows the safety and joys of family – parents and his older brother. His other grandmother has been with the family for several weeks now and she has reached the acceptable stage within his wee world. I, on the other hand, am seen less seldom and do not fall into the family safety category as yet. After all, one month is a large percentage of his little life and is a long time between visits. His level of trust is in his own abilities and in his family, not in those outside of that unit.

I just spoke to Mike who is sitting beside me as I write and think … telling him that I have gotten to the point in my post that has me uncertain as to where I’m going to go from here! Ah, yes …

The topic was mine today. What message did I originally intend when I proposed this subject last evening? It was the amazement of the diversity of the two boys, each with the same parents. I looked to each of my sons and the wide variance in who they have become as men – both of them unique, dynamic individuals; both so different one from the other. They, too, had that youthful innocence when they were little. As did I when I was small; as did you, dear reader.

Then life happened to us. Each of us lost that innocence to some degree or another, either in one rush of its loss or slowly, over time and with a continual deterioration of experiences. Need it be this way? Do my grandsons have to lose their innocence to the realities of what is yet to become their physical life? What, if anything, is my role as their grandmother to help them retain the blessed aspect of their innate innocence?

I have no answers today. I am merely thinking out loud and in black on white. My desires and the children’s own intentions may not match. There may be nothing I can, should or could do to alter the paths of their future. I am likely here as their Grandy to love them for who they are at the purest, deepest, most sincere and innocent level of their beings … for all of their lives. That’s good enough for me!

In Light and Laughter,

Marcia

P.S.: went in to check my e-mails and opened this motivation e-card (I receive a different one each day). This one seemed to correspond well with today’s topic: The Greatest Obstacle to Discovery.

.

Follow this link to read Mike’s View.