My grandchildren live far away from California, on the other side of United States, in New York.
Every time that we see each other, I realize how much they have grown up and become mature.
I first saw them when they were born, and as infants. On the next trip, they could sit. Then they talked and walked. Now they are big girls of 7 and not yet 8 years old. They are able to reason and express their opinions.
I have lived in different countries and been through a lot of life experiences. I have met many different people, studied many languages and have learned different subjects.
When I see my grandchildren, I want to transmit some of my knowledge to them.
It is a pity that adults know so much but they are not able to transmit all their knowledge to their offspring. Most parents can read and write. Yet each child should start learning the alphabet from the beginning all again.
My son and his wife take very good care of their precious girls. They spend most of their time and give them the best of their knowledge and education.
But I am a grandmother. Relations between grandparents and grandchildren are quite different.
As a child, I enjoyed years of precious moments with my grandmother, a loving and giving person. She had not gone to college or studied science. Importantly, she had absorbed a lot of life experiences.
I learned and obtained so much knowledge and strength from her. She did not have many material possessions to offer. Usually children do not care for material. It is the adults who think by offering gifts the child will be happy! A child loves attention and tenderness. That was exactly what my grandmother could offer so generously: her time and her love.
When I am with my grandchildren, I want to give them the gifts that I have received from my past experiences and life. Therefor we paint, play and listen to music. Sometimes we look at the smallest insects while walking in Central Park. I try to make our time together fun, interesting and educational, as I used to do with my own children.
We played. We did art and craft projects. At nights we watched children’s bible story movies that I chose and tried to interpret and explain them. First, I chose David and Goliath.The next day I made a slingshot with branches and rubber bands. Ellie, the younger, was so attracted to the story that she practiced with the slingshot and learned well how to aim. Then we watched the story of Joseph, Jonah and the Whale, Moses and Noah.
(To be continued)
Dr. Rosemary Hartounian Cohen, who lives in the Fairfax District, received her Ph.D in sociology from the Sorbonne in Paris. She lived in two other countries before moving, with her husband and four children, to Los Angeles in 1984. She has published four books in America. Since 1985, she has operated Atelier de Paris, an international art business, on Robertson Boulevard. Her email address is Rosemary@atelierdeparis.com
