Grandpadom Rocks

 

Today's blog is going to be short and sweet. We're up in Madison, Connecticut to celebrate my 365 days of Grandpadom. That is - my first grandchild just turned 1 years old. 

When they say that time flies, once you have a grandchild it goes into turbo boost mode. It feels like only yesterday the kids TOLD us that they were pregnant. Then those 9 months flew by - and now Theo just turned one. I'm 64, Theo is 1. Still trying to process it all....

As I sip my coffee in Madison, Connecticut I am thinking about not only 'time' but location. Boonton New Jersey vs. NYC vs. Madison Connecticut vs. pretty much anywhere. Other than clothes, all of Theo's gifts were toys that centered around EDUCATION. Books. Construction toys, building blocks, puzzles built for curious minds of toddlers. It's all about learning. Discovery. 

Sitting on the floor with Theo, watching him with a new toy. Observing him, as he figures it all out. Watching his curious mind go to work. 'Toy Mastery' is a thing when you pause long enough to watch it unfold. 

Theo's job is to figure things out. Take something new, and master it. Take a brand new book, and flip the pages hundreds of times. Take something apart, put it back together. Each time, faster than the last. 

I guess it hit me today, more than any other day. Learning how to walk, learning how to talk. Learning how to read. Learning how to feed yourself. Theo learns while at daycare. Theo learns while at home. Even while watching him sleep on the baby monitor - you can just tell that he is dreaming about his toys and books. 

There was a cool 'book' made of the pics of Theo, from his birth to his first 1 year old birthday party. And every pic that is in that book was a picture of discovery. Events, trips to the park, experiences. LEARNING. 

I'm going to end it here, as I want to get back to sitting on the floor, playing with Theo. But the lesson for me, and hopefully for you is this: Lifelong Learning. From the moment we are born, we begin LEARNING and exploring and discovering our world. It's supposed to be lifelong, continuous, never-ending discovery. Life is all about learning - it's the purpose of our time on earth. 

As parents, we are teachers. And none of us is as smart as all of us. It is our purpose to teach everything that we know. To share everything that we have learned over a lifetime of learning. I think that is the most human thing we can do - to teach everything we know. To share everything we have learned over our lifetimes. To pay it forward to all future generations. Every life matters as we transfer our knowledge forward to the next generation. Every. Life. Everywhere. MATTERS. 

"We are democratizing education on a global basis via disruptive technology." ~ Thomas A. Capone | CEO | GlobalDLA.org 

And yes, Grandpadom is a great gig. 

From Theo's Journey