The veggie box arrived and myself and two-year-old granddaughter opened it excitedly. Oh, her eyes brightened up as she pulled out a beautiful red shiny small pumpkin .”Isn’t that beautiful”, I said, she nodded and hugged the vegetable!
Throughout the day the pumpkin and my granddaughter were inseparable! It even had a place at the table. “What shall we call it?” I said, she looked puzzled, “pumpkin” she said loudly. “Your daddy is very good at carving pumpkins, maybe he could put a little face on it?” She looked horrified. “No, no”, she said emphatically as she turned her head.
When it was time to go home, I thought there’s no way that pumpkin is staying here, she won’t let go of it and her mummy makes a jolly good pumpkin risotto. So, I said “would you like to take pumpkin home?” She smiled, and nodded happily.
At home her daddy wanted to give it a name and a face, “no”, she said. Mum thought she might be able to cook it, “no”, she said. Pumpkin was great just the way it was, it was what it was and that was enough.
I thought about this, and how we always superimpose our own ideas, thoughts and values on things and people, when really, we need to accept them simply as they are: loved for what they are, not what we put upon them.
Thank you, little two year old, for that lesson.