Lessons From a Toddler

This past week I spent several days with my two-year-old grandson, Jakob. He is a darling boy, and is learning so much!

He is learning new words almost every day. He likes the lights to be on, likes to say "On" and likes to turn the lights on himself. Though at night, he is good with being in the dark bedroom.

Jakob knows he is loved. He expects his adults to meet his needs and wants. He says "Up" and lifts his arms knowing that he will be picked up. Or, he backs up to the adult, knowing he will be placed on a cozy lap.

He has learned a lot about cause and effect. He knows that if he is nice to his cat, the cat will reward him with a satisfying purr.

He matches colours, knows how to turn on electronic toys, and even figured out how to take a selfie video (I am not sure how he did this).

He chooses toys to play with and books to read. He is starting to read along, saying his favourite words.

And if all else fails, he knows he can cry and his grandmother will give in and turn on the TV.

What can I learn from this? I can learn to keep trying new things, knowing that there are people who love and support me, just like we all love Jakob.

I can keep reading and writing, and learning. I can learn from my mistakes as well as my successes.

It may take a few mistakes to get to the successes, in fact. I learned that while working with my editor! I still have some revisions before my book is ready to share with the world!