Get Up

Stephen and I were hounded with the words this morning, ‘’Get Up’’. Repeating the words back and laughing, didn’t make them go away. The only solution seemed to be to actually get up.

Willow was hungry. She’s at that age where breakfast, lunch and tea need to be supplemented with a large morning and afternoon tea, a pre-lunch and dinner snack along with two big toasts with marmite before bed. It is a long time from 8pm to 7am for a tummy that gets that hungry.

Willow has always eaten healthily and well, loving her vegetables and other healthy additions, but right now, she is like all those other six-years-olds out there where those big, long, hollow bones need to be filled. I am pleased I started recording her growth on a wall in the bathroom last year. She has already added about 5cm to her height and I am sure another growth spurt is coming.

Willow is so active. She loves running, and on our walks down the beach puts any car-chasing dogs to shame, flying up ahead of us and back behind, adding at least three or four times the distance we do, all the while emanating joy. There is so much delight in the ugliest shell, and gifts are aplenty. “This is for you and Stephen,’’ she will say to me. By trips end, my pockets are bulging with these little treasures and they join the others on the deck. One day I will do something with them, perhaps a mobile or something similar.

Grandchildren bring a lot of joy. I have a folder of pictures I have saved from previous gifts, and some hang on the wall. Willow has just reached that age where we don’t have to worry what she is up to when there is silence. Younger ones require a lot of energy just making sure they are safe. I am sure our joy will grow too with each passing year with each of these grandchildren. With Willow, I feel so much gratitude when I am around her and sometimes, sadness too, for the father she will never know. Sometimes I see bits of him in her, the determination being one of these. That trait served Daniel well and I am sure it will do the same with Willow. These people don’t give up, they keep practising until they achieve what they set out to do, just like this morning when Willow was hungry. I am sure no one will walk over her because she simply won’t let them. Her father would be proud, just as I am sure her mother is.

Parenting these determined children takes a skill, one I learnt well with Daniel. Often telling them to do something doesn’t work, like last night for example, when Willow didn’t want her shower. The solution was simple, no tears involved. “No shower, no book.’’

Willow was in that shower in seconds and later we enjoyed a lovely story together.

The moral of this story, ‘don’t mess with nana’. She knows all the tricks.