The Look

Two of my grandchildren began school this week.
One granddaughter is in first grade.
Another granddaughter is in kindergarten.
Both are so excited about their new teacher and their new friends.

I suggested to my daughter that we meet at a local coffee shop.
The day we met was three days before the first grader would start school.
The first grader and her three siblings couldn’t wait for some Grandma time.
This local coffee shop has wonderful doughnuts that they love to eat.

Hugs went all around as we met in the parking lot.
Two of my granddaughters held my hand as we walked inside.
My daughter walked with my two grandsons.
Each child talked excitedly as we almost skipped inside.

At the glass counter, decisions were made.
A chocolate doughnut with chocolate sprinkles for the first grader.
A chocolate doughnut with rainbow sprinkles for my two and a half year old grandson.
A strawberry doughnut with rainbow sprinkles for my pre-school granddaughter.

We chose a table large enough to accommodate all of us and a high chair as well.
My daughter and I opted for other things besides doughnuts.
The children waited patiently; the younger ones colored on the paper place mat.
The older one told me about all the things she was anxious to do in first grade.

Grandma, when you’re in first grade you get to go on the jungle gym and the seesaw.
Apparently, those two things were off limits when she was in preschool and kindergarten.
What a big girl you are! I said and meant it.
How could six years have passed by this quickly?

My youngest grandson is almost ten months old.
He smiled at everyone who went by our table.
He giggled when I reached over and walked my fingers up his arm.
He drank from a bottle, munched on veggie straws, and dropped toys on the floor.

Inevitably, bathroom breaks were needed.
I stayed with the others while my daughter took whoever needed to go to the bathroom.
Adult conversations are usually unsuccessful when children are near.
That is why my daughter and I grab one on one time just by ourselves.

My little grandson wanted to get out of the high chair.
Since he is crawling everywhere, being confined without movement only works so long.
My daughter took him out of the high chair and allowed him to stand up against a chair.
He patted the chair in delight but then something else caught his eye.

He crawled over to a nearby table because someone’s sandals intrigued him.
My daughter picked him up, but not before the young sandaled woman talked to him.
An older couple was sitting behind us.
He crawled over to them and they were delighted.

He’s so cute, the older woman said, you have your hands full.
We are blessed, was my daughter’s response.
My grandson would have been a welcome guest at their table.
He seemed to be the highlight of their morning.

Another bathroom break was needed, since the two-and-a-half year old is being potty trained.
I was with the other three, talking about everything and nothing.
The littlest one was crawling right near my feet.
He found it intriguing to put his finger in the slats between two floor boards.

At that moment, an older woman was coming towards us.
She was carrying her coffee and pastry to go.
The clear path she thought she had to the door was detoured a few inches.
A crawling baby was in her way, which prohibited her from walking in a straight line.

She gave me a look of disgust.
She audibly sighed in annoyance.
I looked over at the older couple who were talking so sweetly to the little one at their feet.
He saw their smiles and crawled towards them.

We gathered all of our things and went out to the parking lot.
I told my daughter about the woman’s annoyance.
Either she is not around children or she forgets what children are like, my daughter said.
There is no way to know which applies, though I think it is the latter.

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. (Matthew 19:13-15)

Jesus would have been like the older couple who delighted in a crawling baby.
Jesus smiled and welcomed the little ones at His feet.
Children are drawn to that sort of kindness.
How sad to forget what children are like.

Jesus doesn’t forget.
He made the children.
He loves their curiosity and wonder.
So should we.