My daughter has a clock. It’s a Grandmother Clock, which is like a Grandfather Clock, only it’s, well, honestly, I don’t know the difference. It’s my Mother-in-law’s clock and she’s a grandmother, maybe that’s the difference. To be more specific, my daughter doesn’t have the clock that belongs to Nana, she will have it some day when Nana is no longer alive.
She and Nana talked about this some time ago. It makes a lovely chiming noise and my daughter likes it very much. Nana told her she could have it and my daughter, who most definitely doesn’t want to lose her Nana, is happy to have something of hers some day, to remember her by.
My in-laws recently moved closer to us and the clock moved with them. The clock’s new location is prominently in the foyer of their new house. My daughter must have said something about it to her brother recently when they were over, about how it was going to be hers after Nana had died. I think it got my son thinking, because the next time he was over at Nana and Papa’s he asked Nana what would be his after Nana had died.
Nana, just like all the stories you’ve heard about kind grandmothers, asked him what he’d like to have? My son didn’t dither; he knew exactly what he wanted—he wanted the the curio cabinet. The curio cabinet is not only a piece of beautiful furniture, it’s filled with all sorts of “curiosities” befitting the name of the cabinet. There are lots of little boxes and small items that make you want to open the curved glass doors, reach in and find out more.
Did the curio cabinet include the contents? This would be a question an adult might ask, but as a child, my son assumed the case included everything inside. Nana assured him it did. And Nana also made sure my husband and I knew that each child had something special reserved just for them, from her, after she was gone.
My children don’t have a good concept of mortality. They understand there is a cycle of life and living things ultimately die, but they haven’t had the experience of losing a loved one other than our dog, which they remember, but were too young to understand well. They’re not worried about Nana or any of their grandparents dying, which is a good thing. Fear of death isn’t something I want them to be burdened with at this age.
The Big Boy Update: My son told me he wanted to get his hair cut after school while we were riding to campus this morning. We called his father and he asked if he could go with him to get his hair cut after pickup. My son burst into the room when he got home, beaming, feeling very dapper I think. I told him he looked very nice. Then he ran off to play with the puppy.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: We celebrated my daughter’s half-birthday at school today with cupcakes during her lunch period. We had missed her actual birthday as her father and I were in Las Vegas running in the Rock and Roll Marathon series. We had forgotten multiple times to reschedule and now, one half-year later, we finally got round to it. Her classmates are very friendly. I had a really fun lunch hour talking to a group of not-shy-in-the-slightest girls sitting around me.
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