Cuteness

This is my fourth and final post in a series I’ve referred to as “From the Mouths of Babes”. Last week, one of my Facebook friends, anxious about the election, found comfort in the cuteness of her two young boys and their love for school. I too have found hope in a dark time by watching my kids -the way they interact with the world with kindness and humor.

I started this series by asking Anna, my oldest, what she wanted me to write about. She reads my blog regularly and prefers the posts where I give ideas, so she asked me to talk about our holiday shelf. I assumed my topics would get more random as I moved down the line to my younger kids. Hudson chose Harry Potter which was pretty standard. Nora settled on Disney World and then I held my breath when I asked my 5-year-old boy what I should write about for his week….he had no idea. So, I prompted him a little. I asked Grady, “What is the most special thing to you?” And he said, “Cuteness. Cuteness is first and then probably family.”

I promised I’d do my best no matter what the kids suggested, so I’m going to write about cuteness and a little about family.

I’m actually not ​​surprised that Grady said cuteness. If you were asked to describe Grady, cute would definitely be an identifier. Just like my friend who found comfort in her kids, Grady’s cuteness is often a source of joy for us. I don’t just mean that he’s cute to look at, though that’s true, it’s his personality that’s so incredibly cute. Last month, he invited his sister on a date where he woke up early to got all dressed up and make a special breakfast for her. That’s just cute.

Part of what makes Grady so cute is that he’s tiny. Remember those charm bracelets all girls had in the 80’s? They were amazing. I remember my little abacus. I loved that thing. Did I have a full sized abacus? Of course not. I didn’t live in China in the 12 century. But my charm abacus was awesome because it was miniature. If you don’t think miniature versions of regular items makes them more desirable, you clearly have no experience with American Girl dolls. Today, I was looking at one of their catalogs and found myself drawn to a very expensive set of Chinese take-out containers. Why? Because they were tiny.

Grady’s tiny. People see him at the store and assume he’s three or a young four. They ask him questions and he responds like he’s five and a half (because he is) and they gush. “Awe! He’s so smart and so, so cute!” They’re not wrong.

I smiled to myself when Grady suggested I talk about cuteness because “cute” was a favorite word of Ryan’s aunt who passed away a couple of weeks ago. Aunt Micki often called things she liked “cute” and when we heard the news of her passing, I knew I would forever associate that word with Aunt Micki and her sweet personality that made everyone feel like family.

Speaking of family, Grady did say that family was a close second. Although a fourth child wasn’t really part of our plan, we can’t imagine our family without our cute little grand finale. Grady is fiercely loyal and loves to be helpful. He makes us smile and we often repeat the cute things he says. He truly completes our family and we are better because he’s ours.

This series has been a fun distraction for me in a pretty stressful time. It’s helped me see the world through the eyes of my kids. They have shown me that there’s always something to celebrate, and to never give up. They’ve reminded me it’s okay to have a childlike wonder and that a little cuteness goes a long way. I’m so thankful for my kids and I plan to continue to see the world through their hopeful eyes.

Blessings,

Shannon