I am going to talk about Neeko.
Right now, I know there is nothing more delightful than an eight-year old boy who grows up in love. This child beams!
I went to Washington, DC (thecitythatIhatesomuch) to pay a surprise visit to my Grandmother, Sissy, for Easter. I was excited about putting together a basket of things I thought she might like. Some things I chose for their beauty, others because I thought she'd like to eat them. She is 97 years old, and while still pretty sharp, she can be puzzling. I never know if I hit or miss the bulls-eye with her. Anyway, we attended Mass together, and I enjoyed being with her. The priest who celebrated preached a sermon that sounded like one he might have preached for the past 40 years. It wasn't enlightening or imaginative. Maybe he Googled "Easter" and used something he found on the 'net. (I doubt it...) Anyway, it was his Good News, so I guess the bases are covered. The sermon I heard on Easter Eve was dead-on - and preached by a seminarian. It was about seeing life in those around us. Sometimes the light shines from ancestors and feeds our light. The Light never dies because it is resurrected! (Well, that's my take on it anyway....)
Back to my nephew.
I bought two really beautiful Easter cookies for my Grandmother's basket. I was much more excited about giving them to her than she seemed to receive it. I tend to get excited about things I do for people. Sometimes they aren't very excited about what I am excited about, and I feel I've failed. (This is something else that will keep me in therapy forever! Anyway, when Neeko came to visit my Grandmother with my sister (his Grandmother) and my brother-in-law (his Grandfather) and my nieces and nephew (his mother, aunt, and uncle) and their significant others, I showed him the cookies and asked him which one he wanted. His reply was, "I want both!"
That kind of honesty gets an eight year-old both cookies. Especially when the ninety-seven year-old for whom they were purchased didn't seem to notice them. I wanted to share in his joy, so I handed him both cookies, and broke off the ear of one and popped it in my mouth! It was delicious not because it was a good cookie (it was!) but because I was sharing it with someone I love very much.
He knows that in a play-reading, I will be the "Wicked Witch of the West." The scene in which I am acting involved me (the Witch) and the commander of my winged monkeys. His name happens to be "Nikko" - different spelling but pronounced the same way. A couple of weeks ago, I read him my lines, and he just giggled, guffawed and laughed. He asked me to do it again, on Easter. How could I resist. When I got to the point where I was yelling for "Nikko" - the child got hysterical! He loved that I was calling his name. He loved that in an indirect manner I was focusing on him!
A couple of years ago, we had a birthday party for my Grandmother. My sister prepared a tray with skewers of fruit cut in designs. They were tempting with the colors, the aroma, and the anticipation of this special event. Neeko was running around the house with two friends. He stopped in the kitchen where we were preparing the party food for transport. He saw the fruit. He asked for one. My sister (his aunt, not his grandmother) told him he would have to wait for the party, and explained that it wouldn't be fair to the other children if they had to wait for the fruit when he didn't. His reply: "But it's ME!" My sister resisted the temptation to give into his request, but it was hard.
How wonderful it must be to know that everyone loves you! All you have to do is receive it and glow. To know that you are special, to acknowledge it, and to use it is truly a blessing. I guess that is one meaning for "Letting your light shine!"
Neeko has been raised in such an atmosphere of love that he has no problem at all interacting with other children, and with adults. He is very playful. He is comfortable teasing people. (But not in a mean-spirited way. If he hears someone being mean-spirited about another person, he challenges the offender - even if the offender is an adult!)
I don't want to be like Neeko when I grow up - I want to be like him NOW! To be able to relax and be honest about what I want. To be able to say, "But it's ME!" and allow someone else to show me how much they love me. And to get the opportunity to announce it, experience it, and own it.
Me!
(Erlinda)
(Erlinda)
