Resilient

Resilient. It means to recover or adjust easily. What's interesting (and frustrating, and heartbreaking, and puzzling, and relieving) is that Grif is both totally un-resilient and resilient at the same time. We've been away, and he obvious did not adjust well to that. He's still not adjusting well, I think, and we're feeling the backlash of that even these fews days later as we settle once again into our normal, everyday routine.

But totally, 100%, fully, completely resilient? That's Grif too. And perhaps true of all three-year-olds. Crying one minute, fine the next. Upset and concerned at once, then completely joyous and happy and laughing a moment later.

We talked tonight about the dentist (our first appointment tomorrow, fingers crossed) and he seems open to that (if there are presents, which I suspect there will be, given the reports of this dentist). And we talked about swimming -- which last year he could not get enough of, but when I talked to him about learning to swim soon, he was resistant, worried that he if goes in the water, he will just "go down and disappear forever." He actually said those words... and my heart started to hurt with the thought that he was actually worried about (and could coherently picture) disappearing forever. But then the very next moment, his toy snake fell into the water... and was swimming. And he saw it. And he got it. And he was so very excited about his snake's tail just swimming in the water, back and forth.

Resiliency. I think it's what makes 3-year-olds so totally, utterly loveable. It makes us forget (and forgive) the tantrums and fits and innocent meanness. It's what makes us better parents, better people, knowing that if you can just wait out the storm one more minute, the smile on his face and the laughter from his heart will melt, melt, melt you.