My grandniece is, of course, the brightest and cutest two-year-old on the planet. Since I don’t get to see her very often, my sister texts a steady stream of pictures and videos. I can watch Natalie dance in the living room to the Lawrence Welk show even though I live miles away.
This week, I had the rare opportunity of visiting Natalie on a quick trip to my hometown. I toured her beautiful new home with her mom (my niece, Dana) and watched her play with Playdough on the coffee table. Knowing she didn’t recognize me from my last visit, I waited a while, then asked if I could try the pink one with the colored speckles. Yeah, she said, and I joined her in rolling out dough, pressing a mold to make a butterfly.
At mealtime, Natalie needed to pull her hair up. I happened to have an elastic tie on my wrist that I handed to Dana. I thought, if I ever get that back, it’ll be my special hair tie because Natalie had it in her hair!
After dinner we adjourned to the backyard with swing set, sandbox, and plenty of room for their two Australian cattle dogs to run. Natalie followed her dad into the garage and emerged atop a pink 4-wheeler. She squealed with delight when driving in high gear with Papa chasing her across the lawn. Soon, Dana let her know the countdown to bedtime. When asked, Natalie walked inside holding hands with my sister—perhaps hoping she was going to Grandma’s house next.
It was time to say goodnight. Natalie warmly hugged and kissed Grandma and Papa. I knew it would be awkward when it came to me because she didn’t know her Auntie Em. She squirmed in her mother’s arms while Dana asked if she could blow kisses or maybe give a high five. Her voice whined, No… as in, please don’t make me, and I was happy that Dana didn’t.
Lately, I’ve been exploring a phrase that came in a dream: Not by force, but by invitation… Sometimes we override children on such subtleties as greetings or farewells. But I’d noticed how offering or waiting for invitations, even within myself, opened a sacred doorway.
Natalie headed for her bedroom with a handful of change for her piggy bank. A short while later, she re-entered the hallway, looked at me, said Come on and led me into her room. A blue turtle on her nightstand lit up and played sounds of the ocean. Wow, I said, that’s beautiful. Natalie giggled and joy passed through my body like a ripple. We read two books. She laughed many times over as I interpreted Angelina Ballerina with various characters voices.
When it was time to go, I asked, high five? She hit my hand happily. We walked out and joined the others. From her mom’s arms, with a big smile, she blew me kisses goodbye. By invitation, I’d gained the privilege of entering Natalie’s joyful world.