I know this is hard to believe, but trust me when I tell you I have six of the most amazing grandchildren the world has ever known. I’m also lucky to have them all living close enough to see on a weekly if not daily basis. They are all three years old and younger. Our family motto could well be “the family that breeds together, stays together”. I don’t mean that in a creepy way. Anyhoo, I spend a lot of time with these little people, and wouldn’t you know it, I have learned some of life’s truths from them. So, here goes.
- Live in the present. I come from a long line of worriers. I fret over the past, and also about the future. I regret things I said; I plan what I will say. Recently, my anxiety had gotten to the point that it was interfering with my sleep. I eventually went to the doctor and we did a sleep study. The results came back: yep, I don’t sleep well at all. But it wasn’t sleep apnea, restless leg, or anything else organic. I was given sleeping pills. But I didn’t want to go there, so I took a course on mindfulness meditation. The idea is to focus on the present. I have been working on it, and I am doing markedly better in the sleep department. But here’s the thing: I could have taken a lesson from my grandchildren. They are masters at living in the moment and mindfulness. Often I take walks with them and they point out things I completely missed. They notice every dog that barks, every airplane that flies over, and every truck that goes by. They truly live in the moment, and their experience is very rich because of it. They don’t toss and turn at night, either.
- Stop eating when you are full. Tuesday is chicken nugget day at Nana’s house. You can get 20 nuggets from McDonalds for $5. It’s a bargain. The kids all love them, but they only eat as many as they want. This means that sometimes we throw away uneaten nuggets. So what. Is it any less wasteful to eat food you neither need nor want than it is to throw it away? It isn’t going to help the children in Africa either way. Kids eat when they are hungry and stop when they are not. It’s a great lesson.
- Life is messy. No need to get worked up over it. Kids are very messy. They spill everything. They get food all over themselves. They play in the dirt. They love to draw with chalk on the pavement and then sit on their art work. Chalk gets all over their pants. They love to roll in the grass and they get leaves stuck in their hair. They couldn’t care less. And really, what does it matter? One of my favorite lines from the movie Leap Year is “throw it in the wash, it’ll be grand.” It really will.
- Be proud of your accomplishments, even if other people think it’s just poop. Ok, I know this is a little gross, but three of my grandchildren are recently potty trained. The other day two of them were over playing together. One had to take a potty break. I heard him say to his mother who was helping him in the bathroom, “Don’t flush it yet, I want Porter to see my poop”. Later in the afternoon Porter returned the favor. Noah came in to admire it and together they watched it all go down the toilet.
