Thursday, February 12, 2009

A Simple Solution

Lightnings {{es|Tormenta eléctrica.Image via Wikipedia

One of the things I love about children is their innocent assessment of any given situation. Three and a half years ago, when my oldest granddaughter was six, our conversation turned to storms.

"Grandma, are you scared of thunder?"
"Nope."
"Were you scared of it when you were a little girl?"
"No, because you can't have thunder without lightning. And I really, really liked a big lightning storm, especially when the electricity in my house went out."

I explained how my mom would gather plain white candles from the cabinet above the refrigerator, light them and place them on a high shelf at each end of the living room. Shadows would dance across our faces as the candles flickered. We'd huddle together and tell stories or munch on snacks, and after each lightning flash we'd count to see how long it took the sound of thunder to reach our ears.

I sighed at the memory, because my mother had passed away recently. "But then the storm would pass and suddenly all the lights would pop back on. I was always disappointed when our together-time had to end."

My granddaughter's blue eyes brightened. "Well Grandma, why didn't you just switch the lights back off?"

"Simplicity is the glory of expression."--Walt Whitman

Seedplanter

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4 comments:

PolymerClayTutor said...

Aww how sweet! Kids are the ones that really understand.

Recently our power went off and my husband and our two kids sat around candles at the kitchen table and roasted marshmallows on forks. We chatted and roasted for a couple of hours.

No computer, no TV, no noise. Just us. Luckily the power didn't come back on until after we were in bed, so the moment was ruined.

Too bad we couldn't just turn out the lights like your wise granddaughter suggested. We would all benefit from a little peace and quite and some cozy chatting around a fire... even if it's just candles on the kitchen table!

Thanks for sharing your story!

Take care,
Cindy Lietz

Seedplanter said...

Hi Cindy!

I've spent so much time at your site lately, I feel like we bumped into each other in the connecting hallway.
Made my first set of beads on Saturday. Loving it, and learning much from you. Thanks so much.

Yes, it's nice to stop the merrygoround once in awhile and take a deep breath. I try to do that every day, but some days it just doesn't work.

Nice to connect again!

Achim "Chef Keem" Thiemermann said...

You can write, lady! (sniffle)

Seedplanter said...

And you can cook, Chef Keem!
AND design candy, which melts in your mouth. LOVE those Espresso Sea Salt Caramels!