Life Lessons on the Wall

 

"If you need us for anything, we'll be on the wall!", I yelled over my shoulder as we headed out the door early on a Monday morning.

You read that correctly.  Not near the wall, behind the wall, beside the wall, in front of the wall - but on the wall, where we perched every week.

The entrance to our street intersects a busier thoroughfare, bustling with traffic of all kinds.  What better way to get acquainted with our little corner of the world than by watching it pass right before us and talking about the variety and colors of vehicles that drive by, and the people who regularly walk or jog along the sidewalk?

My grandcookie took it all in, not waving or joining in to wish the passersby a "Happy Monday", but simply observing.  Pointing out each emergency vehicle, cherry picker truck, school bus, taxi cab, and anything else on wheels, or feet, I watched interest unfold on the sweet little face that periodically turned to me as I called attention to whatever was in our line of vision.  

It wasn't long before we began counting how many waves or honks we received in return for our good wishes as people unfurled their day. In short order, the "regulars" expected to see us, my cookie on my lap, settled in atop our brick "sofa" - school bus drivers honking, the mail truck pulling up alongside us to bid a friendly "Have a nice day!", the refuse collectors bellowing their deep horns, and my continuing to talk to the drivers whom, I knew, could not hear my voice as I offered hearty salutations, and occasionally, driving advice - (ie. adhering to the slower speed limit in the "school zone", or perhaps not texting in the midst of operating a motor vehicle.)

My daughter-in-law recounted a story as she was driving her almost-two-year-old home one day.  From the back seat, she heard the emphatic exclamation:

"Hey! No texting and driving, People!!" 

A bit perplexed by her toddler's unequivocal insistence that typing on one's phone while driving is highly unacceptable, and following a quick phone call and inquiry to me, she understood more about what was taking place once her husband left me in charge of their child each week..

After many months of Monday mornings on the wall, while my darling little nugget still chose not to participate in my choruses of well-wishes to others, the two of us began conversing about our observations:

"Hey! Wait a minute!", I exclaimed.

"Who eats breakfast while driving to work?"

"Who even does that?", came the small voice from the little body snuggled against me.

Then:

"That honk scared my ears!"

"Well, since vehicles can't talk, that's just their way of saying hello to us.", I explained.

We talked about the rainbow of automobiles that paraded before us, and what color car we each wanted.  We wondered what it might be like, ascending towards the sky in the basket of a cherry picker truck, and what we would do once we got "there" - wherever "there" was.  We spoke about the kindness of people who took the time to smile and wave at us even though everyone was focused on getting to school, work, or carpools.  Endless topics for us to explore presented themselves as we sat on the wall.

When the cross country teams began their practices, I pointed out that one young man had a unique leg.  He used a prosthetic blade which allowed him to run as well as his teammates and keep pace with the group.  

"Oh my goodness!", I called out.

"Look at that boy!  He has one leg that looks just like ours and one very special leg that looks like a blade!  How cool is that? And he's doing an amazing job of running!" 

I wanted, so badly, to impress upon my grandcookie how remarkable it was that this high schooler was not letting a blade, in place of his lower leg, stop him from fully participating in life just like any other teenager.

The small voice next to me piped up:

"Why is he naked?"

I looked, again, at the same runner, and sure enough - sans t-shirt, he was happily jogging with his peers.

"Oh! You're right! I didn't even notice that! He's not actually 'naked' though, he probably just took his shirt off because he was too hot running with it on."

Later that day, as my son came to pick up his child, I prompted:

"Did you tell your daddy about the very special thing we noticed about one of the runners today?"

"Yeah! He was naked!"

At this point, I made sure to explain the situation in its proper context. 

Next, I realized that, in this child's eyes, the most exceptional thing about the jogger was not that his leg was vastly different from those of his teammates, but rather the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. I applauded my grandcookie, in my mind, for seeing this cross country competitor as no different than anyone else - except for his lack of a shirt. 

I can confidently say that, while sitting on the wall, my lap provided a comfortable place to reinforce aptitudes such as counting, colors, identifying community workers, rules of the road, social skills, the weather, patience, and kindness.

"Life Lessons on the Wall" could so easily refer to things that I have imparted to this child who fills my hours on Mondays, and my heart - every day.  In reality, though, we have learned from each other.  

These gifts of time have allowed me to view the world through the lens of a sweet soul with an "unjaded", unbiased mind who exemplifies the innocence and wonder that much of society seems to have misplaced.  

In the end, I'd say it's a toss-up as to who has learned more lessons from whom!

© Cre8ive Writes, LLC  2022