Out of the mouths of babes. I gotta say I learn so much, or at least re-learn, from things the grandchildren sometimes say. I often get these tidbits on Mondays when I pick up nine-year-old Kya in Santee and take her to ballet class in Balboa Park. This morning as we walked from the parking lot, she had a question for me about when I was a kid.
“Granny, was the world a less colorful place when you were growing up?”
Hmm. “What made you think that?”
“Well,” she pondered. “All the old photos are black and white.”
“Huh.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. “That’s a very interesting thought, Kya.” I proceeded to explain how film, back in the day, could only be developed into black and white. They didn’t have the technology for developing color photographs yet. I kind of laughed again at her conclusion. “The world was just as colorful back then.” I proceeded to tell her that the quality of black and white is often better than color.
“What?” she sneered. “How is that even possible?”
I pointed out a sculpted roofline and indicated the definition of it against the sky. “Often that can look more vivid without colors. It would stand out more starkly.”
“And the sky would be white?”
“Well, more like shades of gray. It wasn’t only just black and white.”
“And something else, Granny. Why was nobody ever smiling in those old pictures? Were they not happy back then?”
I unsuccessfully held back another chuckle. Kids say the darndest things. I gave a brief ponder before responding. “That is true, isn’t it? Perhaps they just felt more important when they looked serious. Maybe?”
On to ballet class.
Last week, Kya had told me something that her little sister, Zoe, said. Their dad was turning forty-six which made her both happy and sad. Birthdays are fun because you get to have a party. But sad because she didn’t want her daddy to be old.
Wow—how profound. From a six-year-old! I love to bear witness to these little nuggets of wisdom and watch how their minds work.
Later, when we got back to Santee, one of our conversations led to looking online at babies in cars during the 1950’s and 60’s. We laughed at some of the preposterous methods of transports: babies on dashboards in the sun, strange metal car seat contraptions, baby seats hanging out of car windows…
Kya blurted out. “Did they not like babies back then?”
We all busted up.
Besides adding levity or entertaining us, kids embody the ability to be totally in the moment. They, at times, can maintain complete absorption in something, regardless of what else might be going on. I’m not talking about when they are plugged into a video game. I’m referring to an actual activity which grabs their interest. One of my favorite things to do when I’m around a toddler who is allowed the time and space to explore, is to simply observe them. I love watching their curiosity blossom. We also have this ability, but it can often be more difficult to maintain because of the many distractions that bombard us daily, as well as just keeping up with our never-ending ‘to do’ list.
I realize that it can be easier for a grandparent than a parent to slow down enough to watch these things unfold. It’s well worth doing—even if it’s just watching some random kid at the park. And I often learn some very important things when I really listen to a child. For instance, do you know why some kids think they’d like to grow up to be a trash truck driver? It’s because they only have to work one day a week. Pretty observant, I’d say.
Oh, have you heard the one about Halloween? Why don’t skeletons fight each other? They don’t have the guts! This one came from AARP. Happy chuckling through your day.
Chi Varnado has published six books including fiction, nonfiction and children’s books. They are available on www.amazon.com. Her collection of essays, Quail Mutterings, can be found on www.chivarnado.com or www.dancecentrepresents.com.
She is available to adults and children for fun tutoring in writing.