“Why does Goldilocks eat the bears’ food?”
“Where is that helicopter flying?”
“What are we going to have for dinner?”
“Who is that little girl at the park?”
“When is Santa coming again?”
From the moment my Little Lovely hops out of bed, she is asking questions about the world around her. Some of her questions make me smile, some make me ponder and some have even stumped me. I know that this is only the beginning of my job helping her understand and make sense of what’s she’s learning, and I am enjoying being her go-to resource, especially when the questions are sweet and simple.
Her questions guide me and have opened some special conversations. Recently, she asked me if I had a daddy. My father passed away eight years ago, and we all miss him very much. I have wanted to tell Eloise about him, and this was the perfect opportunity. I let her pick out a Grandfather name for him, “Pop,” so we can talk about him in a familiar way moving forward.
I’m grateful for these wise questions and I will be ready and waiting for the next one…
Little children, sweet and lovely
Buds from Heaven sent to earth!
Let us love them, teach them, guide them,
Fill their lives with joy and mirth…
Looking up with eyes of laughter,
Holding out their tiny hands;
Bless these little ones, oh, Master!
Precious children of all lands!
-Gertrude Tooley Buckingham, “Little Children” (1940)