I just returned from Florida and a visit with family. My daughter, Lisa, has lived in the U.S. since 1983 and is married to my wonderful son-in-law, Josh. They’ve blessed me with two grandchildren: Noah and Ava. Spending time again with the grand kids reminded me again of how we are all blessed by children.
Children are without guile….Well, mostly. Humans seem to acquire more guile as years pass. So, children tend to be pretty honest in their early years. Ava is five years old now. Noah is 11. On this visit, I was struck with the similarity of Ava and my daughter when she was around that age. Lisa’s best friend back in the late seventies was Andrea Shutz. Andrea lived two blocks away in Windsor. Having recently mastered the use of the dial telephone, Andrea would often call to speak with Lisa. Andrea, though, had not yet mastered the English language. She had trouble with her “r’s” and “l’s.” I am guilty of dragging out a phone call from her, simply because she was too cute and I loved to hear her speak. Here’s a typical call:
Rrrrriiiiingggg.
“Hello.”
“Hewwo, Mr. Gaybow. Is Weesum home?”
“Who’s calling, please?” (As if I didn’t know.)
“Andweeah Shutz.”
“I’m sorry. Who?”
“Andweeah Shutz.”
“Pardon me…I didn’t get that.”
(loud sigh) “Annnndweeeeaahhh Shuuutz!” (very exasperated.)
“Oh, hi, Andrea! Just a minute. I’ll get her for you.
Meanwhile, my daughter had caught the whole conversation. She said, “Dad, puh-leeze don’t do that. It’s embarrassing!” So, as I’ve said, children are pretty honest and direct. I, on the other hand, was guilty of guile. May we all be a little more like children.
Tags: children, grand parents, kids
