Show me love...toddler style

With a now nearly two year old, I’m regularly getting to see things through a child’s eyes, and everything old is new again. Suddenly, the same old State Fair is cool because they have big tractors. The zoo is brand new because my little Connor saw a live bear for the first time. And these days, I rarely fail to notice when a school bus or semi truck drives by thanks to an excited toddler in the back seat. Because every day is new and exciting for him, I get to see the world and life in a new way and learn from it. And I think I need that.

One of my favorite recent experiences has been watching my son learn to love. Clearly, this kid gets lots of hugs and kisses, and he’s now practicing what he sees…perhaps to an extreme. At his daycare he started what my husband calls  the “big hug revolution.” When it’s time to go home, Connor announces that he has to give “big hugs” to each child and his teacher. At first, a few of the kids didn’t care for it—some even pushed him away. I tried to tell my son it was OK to just wave, but he wouldn’t have it. He would rather topple an unstable baby over than deny that child a big hug. And now, it’s routine for everyone at the end of the day to hug each other good bye. I’m amazed at what he started. Even the other parents get a kick out of it and remind Connor to give their child a hug before taking their kid home.

And while I’m not encouraging materialism (I hope), he seems to equally show love to his toys. It started with hugging stuffed animals, but has progressed from there. A couple days ago before bedtime I was trying to get him to pick up his toys. I was rushing him to close a closet door when I realized that he had stopped to give kisses to two of his favorite toys.

As I personally work on trying to take time daily for gratitude and thanksgiving, it’s my 22 month old who shows me how it’s done—always willing to take the time to appreciate the people and things around him. I can only imagine what he’ll teach me next!