play therapy
Yesterday we had a fun family Memorial Day picnic supper at the park near our house. After we ate the children had a good time playing. Shawna (about 16 months old) came up to me. She can't really talk yet, except for a few words, but I could tell she wanted to be with me. That feels so good. She held her distance for quite a few months but then realized that my wife and I were OK.
Later she brought me a ball. I would throw it and she would go get it and bring it back. She hasn't yet learned how to throw a ball, I guess.
After awhile folks were eating some dessert. I was asked if I wanted a rich pecan cookie (something like a brownie). I did, but I was sitting on the ground 20 feet from the picnic table. So I asked if someone could give my cookie to Shawna and tell her, "Take this cookie to Grandpa." She understood. She brought it all the way to me, turned around, sat in my lap, and ate the cookie! Her mother, our daughter, brought me another one.
I also got to pitch the ball for the four boy cousins ages 3-7. I think they all got hits. I asked our son to be catcher and I pitched. Good fun!
Ah, the stuff good memories are made of. I never knew being a grandpa and getting to experience a safe childhood with my grandchildren would be so sweet. This must be a kind of play therapy. I felt peace, content, relaxed, and safe. It is therapeutic to experience childhood again, this time safely, as I relate to our grandchildren. I love them so much. I want to help keep them safe. I want to protect them from any kind of abuse.
When I shared the preceding with one of my good friends, he responded:
Later she brought me a ball. I would throw it and she would go get it and bring it back. She hasn't yet learned how to throw a ball, I guess.
After awhile folks were eating some dessert. I was asked if I wanted a rich pecan cookie (something like a brownie). I did, but I was sitting on the ground 20 feet from the picnic table. So I asked if someone could give my cookie to Shawna and tell her, "Take this cookie to Grandpa." She understood. She brought it all the way to me, turned around, sat in my lap, and ate the cookie! Her mother, our daughter, brought me another one.
I also got to pitch the ball for the four boy cousins ages 3-7. I think they all got hits. I asked our son to be catcher and I pitched. Good fun!
Ah, the stuff good memories are made of. I never knew being a grandpa and getting to experience a safe childhood with my grandchildren would be so sweet. This must be a kind of play therapy. I felt peace, content, relaxed, and safe. It is therapeutic to experience childhood again, this time safely, as I relate to our grandchildren. I love them so much. I want to help keep them safe. I want to protect them from any kind of abuse.
When I shared the preceding with one of my good friends, he responded:
Thanks for the descriptions of your good Memorial day gathering. Yes, trust is a wonderful thing, and it warms our souls to experience it. The Lord is giving you back some of the years that the locust ate. How sweet it is, richer than pecan cookies, and warmer than the sun's rays on a spring day. Oh what a foretaste of glory divine!So true!
posted by Al Johnson at 10:49 AM
2 Comments:
THANK YOU for sharing this. I, too, am regaining some of my childhood as I raise my daughter. The other night I ran through the sprinkler with her. What fun! Oh, and we ate dessert before supper (but don't tell her Daddy that!)
Thanks for sharing this sweet family story. It warmed my heart!
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