“We-we-we,” hollers my Son, Liam with arms flailing as he sets of whirling across the kitchen. He annunciates the three syllables sounding like a German speaking English, with the Ws sounding more like Vs. Every word and activity he partakes in induce a state of wonderment in me, as he is 20 months old but, this particular one is my favorite at the moment.
This is a spontaneous game, in that he is not mimicking something he witnessed another child do and because this twister of toddler energy can begin churning at a moment’s notice. The freedom of his spin amazes me; he has absolutely not a care as he moves.
My adoration for this sport had selfishly caused me to provoke the activity by chanting the words, “We-we-we.” He would hear me, giggle and start twirling with a look of joy painted on his little face. I envy him. I remember a time when as a child I did precisely the same thing, churning around in circles with reckless abandon until the room started shifting. There was fun in the dizziness and the lack of control.
Post dinner Sunday night my husband and I were sitting at the kitchen table, and our children were running from the living room into the kitchen. For lack of a better phrase they were rough housing, as a toddler and a preschooler often will. It was 7pm and somehow our children seemed as though they had boundless liveliness. They often seem like Energizer Bunnies to me as they just keep going and going and going. If I could harness and bottle their energy, Cap and Trade would be unnecessary and I would make millions.
I shouted the words, “We-we-we” and hurricane Liam commenced. My husband, Jim started lecturing me not to encourage the baby. (Late preface: a month and a half ago on a similar Sunday night the kids were jetting around the house, my son crashed into a nested table, we visited the emergency room as a precaution due to the bump but, everything was fine.) Just as my husband is rebuking me, Liam spins off, loses his balance and crashes into the kitchen wall with a thud. As I scooped my son up in my arms to comfort him, a simple thought crept into my subconscious, that there are consequences to, “We-we-we.”
Life is a series of happenings; WE are left to cope with whatever the days have in store for us. I, being an extremely prudent person grapple with my inability to control the world. Openly, it agitates me as a planner that I am unable to constrain my fate. Always, I think before I proceed. Maybe I think too much about the domino effect of my decisions. There are some people in the world that never think before they act and the THOUGHTFUL live at the whim of their portion.
Consider that a friend of mine lost her 36 year old brother last year due to a collision with a drunk and drug impaired driver. Her brother was doing everything right in his life being an upstanding member of society, contributing to the world for the greater good. For reasons unknown he was travelling on the same road, at the same time conservatively in his lane and this heedless woman drove oncoming into his lane killing both drivers. It’s completely unfair that this person imposed doom and took the life of my friend’s brother. Destiny and the universe intervene. We are all literally displaced from our given courses. Balance is lost.
Funny that Liam’s simple spinning evoked such an intense line of thought. Although I still prize the unbound nature of “We-we-we” and the unknowing nature of childhood; I am aware that I cannot spin freely through life. Spinning carelessly would only add to my peril. I suppose you have to strike a balance of cautious spinning. Three days later there is a still a bruise on my Son’s brow, which is representative of the effect of life’s experiences on all of us for me. Going forward I have decided to cease inspiriting my little spinner. If he starts spinning I hope he will recall that there are consequences to, “We-we-we.”
No comments:
Post a Comment