I have two
granddaughters and I consider myself an extremely fortunate person. These two
little girls light our lives and are adored by everyone who encounters them. I
find that looking at each of their charming faces, listening to their voices
affects me in such an astonishing way that I cannot help but smile. The cares
and woes of the world seem to melt away, and the light of their innocence
embraces me.
One of my sons
called recently and said, “Hey Mom, guess
what? Angie can say grandma now!”
So he turns to her and says, “Angie,
say hello to grandma.” And she does, she says ‘grandma’ in that charming,
heart-melting 22-month-old voice that lights up your heart. I find when I talk
to her that my voice changes, that my smile is permanently fixed on my face and
I sigh when the conversation ends.
I remarked to my
older son how delightful it is to see Katie smile, how this also lights my
heart. His response: “Yeah, her smiles are great, but wait to you hear baby
giggles! They’re the best!” And he’s right, there is nothing like hearing a
six-month old baby giggle in complete, utterly trusting glee at something that
is unfathomably funny.
I have watched
waitresses who are taking our order with these children sitting with us, just
smile, involuntarily, as if he or should could not help themselves. Look at the
face of innocence and something inside you lights up, as if you can see
something beyond the features of an emerging personality, a baby or toddler
face.
Why do we react
that way? It’s easy to understand why I am in love with my granddaughters. I
can see the hope of tomorrow for our families in their faces. I can see the
beauty of my children and their spouses in their features and the mere sight of
it is glorious. I’m the grandmother; you’d expect that. What if there is
something more to it?
I suspect that
even strangers who don’t particularly like children respond on an almost
primeval basis. It’s the same reason we cannot resist watching kittens and
puppies. The ‘cute’ factor is often over the top. Face it, you can’t watch a
litter of kittens exploring their world, romping in the new experience of green
grass and not stop for a minute, transfixed, transported from the cares of your
day to just enjoying the innocence of being a carefree kitten.
The energy of
smiles, laughter and simple fun help us to cope. This is why people keep
photographs of their kids, family members and pets around their home, on the
office desks and on the smart phones and computer screens. As I write this, I’m
flying Southwest to visit my youngest son, his wife and Angie! As I was walking down the jetway in Atlanta,
there on a console just as you board the plane was an open part of the section
and there pasted all over it were pictures of the person’s adorable dog. Every
single person I could see, who walked by that console looked at that dog. I
watched them smile, then look down for a moment and then refocus on boarding.
When we are reminded of love and laughter, we are automatically lifted up and
out of ourselves. That energy of delight opens the door to hope and gives us a
break from our stress and worry.
Facebook seems
primarily about people proudly chatting about their kids, their pets and cute
and funny sayings, things that are not heavy or too difficult. There’s already
too much of that. People want an escape from stress.
Sometimes the
best gifts are the surprising ones of happy moments with the ones we love and
cherish. When we are away from them, all we have left are the echoes of their
voices and laughter. Perhaps that is the best collection of all, the memories
of children’s laughter and baby giggles!
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