| |
 |
 |
 |
Welcome to familywisdom.com, a website dedicated to informing and inspiring couples and families. Each week you will find a new article, story or essay about parenting, marriage or life. Suggestions for articles and questions to Ellen Terich are welcome. You can contact her at e.terich1@verizon.net |
NOW HE IS SIX! 2007-01-25 My grandson Sean turned six years old yesterday. I can hardly believe six years have gone by since I first saw that beautiful little face, with its adorable dimple. I love watching Sean grow up, but I miss the days when he was a toddler. I miss him grabbing one of his little notebooks and climbing into his thinking chair as he watched "Blues Clues." I miss him watching the "Wiggles" and performing each of the dance steps perfectly, with less than perfect timing. I miss him knowing the names of each of the dozens of train cars on "Thomas the Train" and "reading" a story he had memorized from one of his Thomas books. But as Sean told me a while ago "First I was a baby, then I was a toddler, now I'm a kid." Sean has become a typical six year old kid. He loves action games and adventure stories and is currently fascinated by the characters in Star Wars. Gone are the days of "Blues Clues," "Thomas the Train" and the "Wiggles." It would probably embarrass Sean now if you reminded him that he once carried around little wooden figures of the "Wiggles," lovingly painted by his mother. Now, as Sean proudly reminds everyone, he is "a kid" and he goes to kindergarten. Sean celebrated his birthday last weekend with a Pirate theme party. After decorating and donning their own pirate bandannas, a half dozen squirming little boys, with a couple of sisters joining in, lined up to hear instructions on the search for buried treasure. Sean's uncle Matt had drawn a treasure map and cut it into several pieces which were hidden around the house. After hearing that they had to find all the pieces, they went off like a small herd of animals, periodically shouting "aarghh," to search for the clues. With the pieces all taped together, they found the treasure under the play structure and delighted in the "jewels," inflatable swords, and eye patches. Sean's presents included items interesting to six year old boys: dinosaurs, pirates and Star Wars. Cupcakes, decorated with pirate themes by Sean's aunt Maria, were enjoyed by all. I enjoyed watching the festivities, and was especially proud of how mature Sean seemed. He greeted each guest with enthusiasm, showed appreciation for each gift, and was gracious as the other kids found the pieces of treasure map and then the treasure. There was no jealousy, no desire to be the center of attention, no attempt to boss anyone around, as you sometimes see from the star of a child's birthday party. Sean is indeed growing up quite nicely. His personality is generally a cheerful one and while he occasionally gets frustrated with his younger sisters, for the most part he is a loving and gentle big brother. Watching Sean grow up, however, is bittersweet. Though he still loves his grandparents, it is obvious we no longer occupy the same place in his life that we once did. Now, friends and school play such a huge role in Sean's life that we have become part of the background. That is as it should be, and while we can still delight in the antics of three year old Gracie and one year old Madeline, it is a little sad not to see Sean's little Wiggles' dances or hear him "read" one of his Thomas stories. When I was a child, my grandmother used to say she wanted to put a brick on my head so I would stop growing up. Of course, she was only expressing a little of what I feel when I see Sean getting older. Like her, I want to savor the innocent delight of the toddler Sean a little longer. But life moves on, toddlers become kids, kids become teenagers, and before you know it, Grammy and Grampy are not nearly the celebrities they once were. Aarghh! |