My nine year old granddaughter and I have built a few cardboard projects over the past 3 years or so. We built a house, an aquarium, shopping mall, and a circus and now we are building a resort. We would meet up a couple of times a week to work on the project but since the beginning of the pandemic we have been unable to get together. So now that we are able to meet up again, we started the resort.
Yesterday, there was a bit of tension when building the Tiki bar, a tug of war of sorts with whatever tool we were using at the time. I withdrew but was puzzled by her actions as she never did this before. But the session continued and we completed the Tiki bar according to her design and it turned out great.
During my walk to the bus afterwards, I wasn’t exactly thinking of this incident and the thought, ‘it takes two to tango’ came to mind, one might say out of the blue. It occurred to me that I was holding on to the tool just as much as she. What was I unwilling to give up?
A child changes a lot in a year’s time, changes unseen on Facetime, Zoom or texting. In building the pre-Covid projects “M” looked to me for ideas and guidance. Now, it seems she is wiser by a year, more confident and has taken charge. Change appears much more sudden after time is held in abeyance and I believe this is what confounded me.
The positive moment was arriving at the realization that “M” is growing up, and while my role has changed, she still wants me to work with her on projects. Just this thought makes me feel wanted and really happy. I got here by listening to and determining it useful that that it takes two to tango.