A WORLD OF WONDERS

by Dimitri C. Michalakis

When the wonders of the world become transparent, when the routines of life become trite, when the horrors of the world become routine, I babysit my three granddaughters with my wife and then I see the world through their eyes and see it all with wonder again.

Lila, who is three, put on a Christmas show at her pre-school, in her best Christmas dress (proud to say in the first row) and the first thing she did when she came onstage and got to see the whole world looking at her is wave to all of us and called out her mommy! She puts the sprinkles on cookies solemnly and eats the sprinkles on cookies first, and she went up and down the Christmas stockings and pointed out everybody’s name. We couldn’t be more proud.

Esme is two and will say your name four or five times when she sees you. She will also say hi to you four or five times, and then looks at you and say hi some more. She bumps her head against you and you smell her curls, her hand is like a tiny clamshell, and she’s scared of Santa Claus. Her parents took her to take a picture with Santa and everyone is smiling, including their dog Moe, but Esme keeps a stony guard over the big whiskered guy in red who tries to be too friendly. Except when she laughs you can see all her little teeth—and she loves Clementine oranges.

Zoe is one and the butterball. She has eyes like beacons that take everything in. Lift your hand and she will look at it, drop your hand and she will follow it, she stares at you for a good long while, until you do something silly, and then she smirks, until you toss her in the air, and then she gives you a belly laugh and you see her gummy smile and two teeth. When she sits on your lap you nuzzle her head with your chin and the world feels a safe place, not just for her, but for you, also.

We visit the apartments of my two daughters and see the toys of my granddaughters all over, and the world is a playground for them, and for us. And we can’t help ourselves saying, “Good job!” and grinning with all our teeth like Ms. Rachel when they do something extraordinary, which is all the time in our eyes.

When the world seems trite, and a little scary, it’s good to see it from the eyes of a child, who is seeing it for the first time, and is trusting you to protect them.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and may your New Year’s be a year of appreciation for all the wonders of life.