After school, Chelsea, the two little Pickles, and I went to a toy store—an absolutely lovely, take-you-back-in-time type of toy store. Before entering Chelsea, set the rules, “We are going in to buy an elastic because Vavie wants to teach you Chinese jump rope since you two were mesmerized by it today at the park; plus, we need to buy a gift for Victor for his birthday. Okay? That’s it, that’s all, okay?”
Okay, they nodded, and we went in smiling. What child would go into a toy store with a frown?
It is such a dreamy, happy, colorful, paradisiacal place for a child—similar to a brocante for me.
After that brief moment, all went sour.
Children and toy stores can be a source of joy or disappointment, especially for children under four years old and after a long day at school.
We found the elastics. But there was only one pink one, and Gabriel grabbed it first. Olivia was devastated. That is the life of a two-year-old, deep emotion expressed at any given moment. We found another brightly colored elastic higher up on the shelf, and an instant smile spread across her face.
In advance, Chelsea had asked Victor’s mother what Victor liked. Chelsea headed in the direction of Legos. But Gabriel had another idea. Chelsea told him that she had asked Victor’s mother and that Legos were what he wanted, not the tiger Gabriel had in his hand.
“You seem disappointed, but Gabriel, Victor doesn’t like tigers like you do.” Chelsea sympathized.
Gabriel said sadly to his mom, “You are not nice, and I want to get a new mom.”
Chelsea responded, “Great, add that to your birthday list.”
Which Gabriel replied, “You are not funny.”
Five steps later, after massive tears that would make the Rhone seem like a creek. Gabriel said, “You know I wanted the tiger for myself.”
“I know,” Chelsea winked.
Gabriel added, “We could add that to my birthday list, not the new mom.”
“Okay, that’s a deal.”
We walked home and played Chinese jump rope, which Gabriel added wasn’t as easy as it looked. I told him that if everything was easy, there wouldn’t be the thrill of accomplishment. His efforts paid off. Olivia laughed trying to jump, and that was good enough.
Why do we unlearn our feelings and disregard others? I wonder if the world would be better if we could be honest with our feelings about what we want, let the emotion run through us, and, after expressing ourselves, not hold disappointments and grudges that boil over often to a non-forgiving place.
Oh, little hearts, stay open, wise, and true to the goodness of who you are.
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