Everything Is Possible - through a child's eyes

Having a child in the house is a game changer. A lifestyle alterer. A blind step into the vast wilderness of space and time where no one can hear you scream and perhaps it's not safe to go back into the water after all. Am I comparing having a kid in the house to having an alien or a shark take up residence? Yes, I am. It's not bad, just different. It's good, once you remember how to do it. You find yourself using parts of your brain that have been dormant for years. You realize that everything is possible, mishaps are probable, and you don't need as much sleep as you want. My ten year old granddaughter and her mother moved in with us three months ago. With her came at least 25 "stuffies" - stuffed animals from beanie baby size to a 6 foot long snake. Or is it a dragon with a really long tail? Barbies with homemade haircuts, tiny plastic shoes and hooker outfits. Some days Barbie just wears duct tape. Maybe she's researching alternative lifestyles. Not my biz. And then there's My Little Pony, which has gone from a few pastel colored rubbery ponies with candy colored manes to an entire enterprise. E-games, episodic web shows, books, stuffies, oversized ponies and ponies that could sit on a teaspoon. The pony world is huge and complex, with the pony hierarchy understood only by little girls and the odd phenom known as "bronies" who are adult men who enjoy pony culture. The thought of that is like me seeing my dad in a Hello Kitty t-shirt. And that which has been seen cannot be unseen. But I digress. Kids are noisy,they move around a lot, especially this one. They want your attention and are not afraid to say so. Up at the crack of the crack of dawn, at full speed within minutes, there is no easing into your day when you're there at wake up time. Eyes open- BOOM! It starts. And you'd better be present in the moment or they know. You can't shortchange a kid with only half of your attention and get away with it very often. There are only so many "laters" and "not right nows" that will work. These words are not get out of jail free cards, so use them wisely. When you haven't cohabitated with children for a long time, you see you've forgotten things. Their innocence and hopefulness. You really do see things through their eyes, which is beautiful. You've forgotten the fun, the magic, the silliness and the endless laughter. Then it comes rushing back to you bringing a lighthearted joy you forgot existed. You learn to pretend again, and to think of things in new ways. Bugs are apparently fascinating, dirt is not bad and resting is overrated. It's not all rainbows, though. Grace talks to me as if I were a fossil. She loves to make fun of my "oldness" and actually asked if I was born in B.C. She claims I don't appreciate sarcasm, but I do! Just not from her! She has a temper and can be sullen sometimes. A glimpse of what her teen years could hold, I guess. She admits she likes to wear people down till she gets what she wants. Her honesty is disarming. She's bright and funny, a whirlwind of movement, emotion and questions. At ten, she can accept "I don't know" as an answer, but is surprised that there's something you don't know because of your advanced age. Shouldn't you know everything by now? I hope her creativity never dims. She is a visionary, the very definition of thinking outside the box. Her artistic talents surpassed mine by the time she was four. By six, she drew better than me. By eight, she drew better than lots of adults. She has the talent to be a fashion designer, but I don't know if she will have the determination. She is mercurial, she changes like the weather. She brings a new vitality and a long forgotten turmoil to our lives. It's never dull. She brings an abundance of love and light. And a few dark clouds. It has been an adjustment, and will continue to be. I still miss my solitude, I'm more tired. But although I hate sitting on the hardwood floor with her, the grass is fine. You have to get on the floor sometimes to do stuff. I get that. I will never enjoy bugs or dirt. On these matters we agree to disagree. And in this, she is teaching me to stop and consider my answers before issuing an immediate "NO!!!" and to think outside the box. To explore, to worry less. She is a living example of hope and optimism. She's right. In the proper state of mind, everything is possible.