He’s here – my grandson is here! And boy are we having fun. One of my favorite things he does, he did this evening.
Taking his brand-new boy-sized folding chair out to the end of the sidewalk, he sat down and watched traffic pass by, waving at each vehicle – sometimes from his seated perch, and sometimes with the standing enthusiasm of a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.
Sometimes folk responded.
Sometimes they didn’t.
Each lack of return wave solicited disappointment and sadness and a report back to Gran on the porch: they didn’t wave.
As I watch this wee boyo, I am struck that there is a social experiment happening right before my very eyes: who waves and who doesn’t?
Rowen draws no conclusions about the character of the non-wavers. This is not a social experiment to him. This is part of the magic and charm of country life, that he might expect a wave.
His sheer delight in the wavers is something the non-wavers might want to ponder.
I know I do.
And then I wonder: who would wittingly disappoint the heart of an almost-6-year-old boy?
Taking his brand-new boy-sized folding chair out to the end of the sidewalk, he sat down and watched traffic pass by, waving at each vehicle – sometimes from his seated perch, and sometimes with the standing enthusiasm of a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.
Sometimes folk responded.
Sometimes they didn’t.
Each lack of return wave solicited disappointment and sadness and a report back to Gran on the porch: they didn’t wave.
As I watch this wee boyo, I am struck that there is a social experiment happening right before my very eyes: who waves and who doesn’t?
Rowen draws no conclusions about the character of the non-wavers. This is not a social experiment to him. This is part of the magic and charm of country life, that he might expect a wave.
His sheer delight in the wavers is something the non-wavers might want to ponder.
I know I do.
And then I wonder: who would wittingly disappoint the heart of an almost-6-year-old boy?
I would like to think that I would wave, I know that I would WANT to wave. But then there is a part of me that thinks I might be afraid to, fear that I may get into trouble for doing so...somehow, someway....although when I really think about it I can't see how....but there is still that fear that these last couple of decades has instilled in us. But that is just one reason why someone might not wave, I'm sure there are many and some that are just simply merciless.
ReplyDeleteIf I passed by and did NOT wave, I would end up being disappointed in myself....but that's just me.