My great-niece Angelina arrived yesterday afternoon and, being 8 ½, caught sight of me and immediately shouted “Aunt Marcy!” then ran up and gave me a humongous hug. Just what I needed after a long, warm day of cooking up a post-Christmas meal of family favorites.
Eight and a half year olds have retained an incredible sense of curiosity and wonder, too. Angelina’s first response to our fabulous view of the ocean and sky, “Wow! This is extremely gorgeous!” Even viewing a container ship through her uncle’s binoculars brought about the same kind of response, thinking about where those containers were from and where they might be going.
Eight and a half year olds still have a sense of play, never tiring of Uno and dominoes, silly old TV shows, and chocolate chip cookies. Yet they are also amazingly independent and can generally be counted on to remember their manners – especially with strangers. When our next door neighbors left this morning, they donated an brand new boogie board to Angelina, who ran right over to the fence and thanked him profusely. She’s off right now at the beach testing it out!
We’ve discovered a limit, however, with lizards, specifically the six inch chameleon on her bedroom wall. “Wait a minute! That thing was there all night next to my bed?” “Probably,” I replied, “It was protecting you by eating the mosquitoes.” “Hmmm…”. She’s still not sure about the usefulness of that chameleon, but is finally willing to go back into her room after her dad and uncle worked together to corral the tiny lizard and place it outside in the garden.
Eight and a half year olds. Full of merriment and awe! Better medicine than anything else for all-around tiredness and malaise. Today I give thanks for 8 ½ year olds. I believe everyone could use one in their life!
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