I have four great-grandchildren. My grandchildren's children are different enough in age and era from me that it is fun and instructive to observe them and think about what I see. The youngest of the 4 is an energetic young man, who is usually in a cheerful mood with lots of smiles, at least when I see him. He tends to be in motion most of the time, and like many boys, seems to enjoy adventures and discoveries along with physical experiences. He will be three years old soon and may be leaving the period of his first love, besides Mommy and Daddy and other important people, which is a deep love of balls. Anything spherical could catch his eye and imagination for quite a time, now.
One of the new fascinations of his life is horses. His grandparents have half a dozen horses on a farm a bit out of town and he gets to visit them enough to have the large, powerful animals in his mind, wherever he is. Because he likes "horseplay", duels with his grandfather using foam swords, charging at a sofa to have enough momentum to carry him most of the way onto the cushions, he has learned to try to get someone to horse around with him by using provocation.
The other day, his greatgrandmother was sitting talking to his mother and grandmother. To get her attention, he carried a small toy horse near her and used it to prod her in the arm repeatedly. His mother saw what he was doing and told him to stop interrupting the adult conversation and poking his nana. He responded with a straight face," Me no do it. Horsey do it."
I wasn't there and only heard about the incident secondhand. I'm sure that the adults quickly used words, voice tone and body language to box him in conceptually, divest the innocent plastic horsey of fake responsibility and place the genuine kind on the little guy behind the operation. But think about it: not yet three and already working on the construction of fake entities, much like a corporation, to use to cover operations that seem desirable but not openly or directly advisable. I have a fascination myself with Adam's words to God upon being questioned as to whether he had eaten of the tree which God had commanded he should not eat: "The woman, which thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
