Life Lessons from a Toddler

By Evelyn David

I'm blessed with the smartest, prettiest, sweetest granddaughter on earth (I add here a poo, poo to ward off any evil eyes, per the original Evelyn), as well as the invitation for any other Grandma to question my definitive statement.

But what I've also discovered is how much I've learned from this little bundle of energy.

1. Naps are for sissies (and Grandmas). This child objects to sleeping. Doesn't need it, doesn't want it. Perfectly willing to entertain herself for 20 minutes in her crib, looking at books, but after that, there's a world to explore and time's a wastin. She's right about the world. I've been seeing it through her eyes and it is wondrous. (She's wrong about the sleeping thing, but that may be my old body talking).

2. With ketchup, anything is edible. She refers to it as "dip." With "dip," she's willing to taste anything. It's not a bad approach to life. I believe Mary Poppins might have sung, "a spoonful of ketchup makes anything go down."

3. "Den, pease." Quick Grandma translation. "You've read this book to me 1,000 times, but again please." Now I absolutely agree with this philosophy. I have books that I adore, that I can reread knowing full well whodunnit, or who ends up with whom, or that the happy ending is sappy. I love them, they give me comfort, and "den, pease," is right up my alley.

4. Winnie the Pooh beats Big Bird and Princesses can be firefighters. I confess that I've got a thing for Winnie the Pooh, especially the 1977 movie with Sterling Holloway as the voice of the bear. I've been singing the songs to my granddaughter and she loves them ("Deep in the 100 Acre Woods," "The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers," sigh). Big Bird bores her. Me too.

I am also glad to see that we've got a little feminist on our hands. The Disney princess figurines routinely drive her toy firetruck, fighting fires and rescuing cats with the best of them. Girl Power!

5. Don't ask a question you don't want to hear the answer to. This piece of wisdom had been in full force when my own kids were young, but I recently had cause to remember it. This little independent spirit has a very polite, but equally definite "no," in her repertoire and is given in response to many questions. Grandma: "Do you want to take a nap?" Quiet, definitive, "no."

The other day I gave her a bath. She was running around in her diaper and I was trying to get her into jammies. "Do you want to put on your snowman pajamas?" I asked sweetly, if tiredly. "No," came the equally sweet, definite response. Then it hit me. I swooped her up and declared, "That wasn't a question, honey." Pajamas on, she handed me "Night, Night Little Pookie," by Sandra Boynton, one of her favorites, mine too. I read it and she smiled, cuddled, and said, "Den, pease." No problem. The other lesson learned: Grandma is a pushover.

Marian, aka the Northern half of Evelyn David, also known as "Nandma"

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