Highlight Reel - Happy Tears
A small thing occurred this past Thursday while the panda and I played in the living room.
A small but very meaningful thing.
We have been practicing her little "tricks" - waving, shaking hands, high-fiving, etc. She's gotten pretty adept at them but sometimes it depends on her mood and distraction level. One thing we have been working on is a little gesture from her Filipino side called "blessing" - mano or mano po. For those of you unfamiliar with this, allow me to explain:
Our culture has great respect for our elders. Mano po is an outward sign of that respect and a way of asking for a blessing from them. Imagine some chivalrous person kissing the back of someone's hand; now imagine that instead of bringing that hand to his lips, he touches that hand to his forehead - that is mano po; that is how we teach our little ones to ask for blessing.
Now, my daughter and I have been practicing this gesture for awhile. Sometimes she does it quite well, other times she wants to just shake my hand, look at my nail polish or bite my fingers. On this day, I did not ask her to bless me. She did it on her own.
She had begun to show disinterest in the waves and high fives, so I was starting to gather some toys for her instead. As I did so, she reached towards me. She grabbed my hand and without me saying a word, she brought it very purposefully to her forehead. Happily, I said "God bless you!" and heaped positive praises on her to which she smiled. I felt heat pricking the backs of my eyes, and a few (very happy!) tears leaked out.
Her rate of learning at this age is astounding. Nearly every day, she surprises me with something - either a whole new skill or a vast improvement of an old one. It makes it that much harder to think of going back to work, knowing that she's right at the height of major learning and milestone-reaching.
Watching her grow is so bittersweet. More of her personality is blossoming, so we can see glimpses of the person she will be. But it also means that the tiny newborn we brought home, all 5 lbs and 6 oz of her bundled in an infant seat, is already just a memory. We all know that the time goes by quickly. But not until you're experiencing it firsthand do you know how excited, how wistful, how nostalgic, and how so full of love that time will make you feel.
A small but very meaningful thing.
We have been practicing her little "tricks" - waving, shaking hands, high-fiving, etc. She's gotten pretty adept at them but sometimes it depends on her mood and distraction level. One thing we have been working on is a little gesture from her Filipino side called "blessing" - mano or mano po. For those of you unfamiliar with this, allow me to explain:
Our culture has great respect for our elders. Mano po is an outward sign of that respect and a way of asking for a blessing from them. Imagine some chivalrous person kissing the back of someone's hand; now imagine that instead of bringing that hand to his lips, he touches that hand to his forehead - that is mano po; that is how we teach our little ones to ask for blessing.
Now, my daughter and I have been practicing this gesture for awhile. Sometimes she does it quite well, other times she wants to just shake my hand, look at my nail polish or bite my fingers. On this day, I did not ask her to bless me. She did it on her own.
She had begun to show disinterest in the waves and high fives, so I was starting to gather some toys for her instead. As I did so, she reached towards me. She grabbed my hand and without me saying a word, she brought it very purposefully to her forehead. Happily, I said "God bless you!" and heaped positive praises on her to which she smiled. I felt heat pricking the backs of my eyes, and a few (very happy!) tears leaked out.
Her rate of learning at this age is astounding. Nearly every day, she surprises me with something - either a whole new skill or a vast improvement of an old one. It makes it that much harder to think of going back to work, knowing that she's right at the height of major learning and milestone-reaching.
Watching her grow is so bittersweet. More of her personality is blossoming, so we can see glimpses of the person she will be. But it also means that the tiny newborn we brought home, all 5 lbs and 6 oz of her bundled in an infant seat, is already just a memory. We all know that the time goes by quickly. But not until you're experiencing it firsthand do you know how excited, how wistful, how nostalgic, and how so full of love that time will make you feel.
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