Nana, Dominic, and Ladybug Story

Nana, Dominic, and Ladybug Story





Last week my grandson, Dominic and I went for a walk. It seems that we have been doing a lot of walking these days…and it occurred to me that these walks are serving
more than one purpose. Not that I need a purpose or a reason to take these excursions with him. But the rewards are endless.
First, because he is now 18 months old, he is no longer satisfied being surrounded by all his cartoon friends (on screen or off). “Stand Up Elmo” and “Dance with me Brobee” were “all that” when he was 1 year old. But now that he is older”, he has moved on.
And I do mean on.
Nana’s kitchen cabinets are far more interesting than a Rocking horse or Crayons. There was a time when my kitchen was organized down to the smallest detail. I could find a corkscrew (which I reach for often), the appropriate sized saucepan or measuring cup within seconds. However, since A.D. (after Dominic) I find myself saying, “now where did I see him going with that?”
Being outside solves all the “no touch”, “be gentle” and “don’t even think about it” issues.
Taking a walk in Southern California can be a remarkable experience. But in the summer months it has it’s challenges. Always we bring a hat, a sippee cup, and sunscreen. Sometimes we bring sunglasses, but they usually end up on his forehead and upside down, or some other useless place, so they are not essential.
I am teaching Dominic to cross the street with caution. We hold hands, look both ways, and then hurry to the other side. He does this now without being reminded. But I worry sometimes that he does not realize he is looking for cars. He might just think his Grandma is a little strange.
We are so fortunate to have a park directly across from our front yard. It belongs to the Catholic Church, which is also across the street. It is a wonderful place to explore. We pick weeds (dandelions) no charge to the church, chase birds and are always on the lookout for stray coyotes, honest. They must be the urban kind because they don’t know they are supposed to be nocturnal. But they keep their distance, and sort of “hop walk” about their business.
I think I can categorize these walks as nature walks. We do a lot of identifying bugs, birds, plants and waste….use your imagination.
On this particular day, we encountered a Ladybug. Now, I can’t remember whether it is the female that has the spots or the male. So, I did not refer to it as any “gender”. Dominic could care less and wouldn’t comprehend the distinction anyhow. We sat Indian style on the grass and played with the Ladybug for quite awhile. I think its one wing was injured so it could not fly away (therefore making the “Ladybug, Ladybug fly away home” song inappropriate). I let this bug crawl all over my hands and arms. Dominic was in awe. Finally, I put the bug on Dominic’s arm to see his reaction.
Well, you can just imagine his facial expression. It was a combination of excitement, fear, and bravery all mix up and smeared over his face….in other words, a Kodak Moment.
Finally, because I could tell it was almost more than he could bear, I put the Ladybug back down in the grass and let him disappear.
By then, it was time to head home. It was getting pretty hot, and I could tell he was spent. Nana was tired; Dominic was tired. We crossed the street with the same caution we did when we started out.
But just as you would have it, when we were back in our own yard, Dominic spotted a Bee on a flower in our front planter. With a big smile on his face, he walks up close to it and put his finger out for the Bee to climb on!!
“No Dominic”, I cried out! “That is a bad bug!” The poor kid looked so confused. And I could not possibly expect him to understand why one bug is good and the other a “no touch!”
So much for Nature Walks…..

Maybe letting him rearrange my kitchen cabinets isn’t that bad of an idea….at the very least, I have an excuse for them being messy!!!

Nana