Yesterday, we attended the third Birthday celebration of our Granddaughter, Eden – who turns three today. On Friday night, my wife and I went shopping for birthday gifts. My wife chose a wooden farm set, complete with building and various animals. I wondered up and down the aisles exclaiming, “Oh look, isn’t this nice!”
Eventually I selected the gift I knew Eden would like – a fairy crown, and a fairy wand with a tip that lights when a button in its handle is pressed. Filled with my usual certainty {ok, ok, my arrogance…}, I proclaimed, “She’ll love this!” My wife snorted in derision – confident in her equal assurance that Eden would love her choice at least as much.
Like many people, my wife buys gifts she thinks are cute and appropriate to the recipient. She falls blindly into the trap advertisers lay – children don’t buy gifts, adults do. Sadly, the marketing of children’s gifts targets adults, not kids.
I bind myself with no such artificial restrictions! My primary consideration is how much the child will enjoy the gift. Here, I must admit I hold a huge advantage over my wife – it’s easy for me to place myself in the mindset of a three-year old, indeed my wife often says that’s where I usually am. Anyway… if I was a fairy princess there is one essential thing I’d need – a wand, for who can make wishes, without a wand?
Eden received so many gifts, both of ours were initially lost in the huge pile. Eventually, she found mine, tried and discarded the crown {incorrectly sized for one of her impressive cranial capacity}, and retained the wand. {Eden’s other grandmother thoroughly enjoyed assembling the farmhouse, so my wife’s gift met with a worthy, age appropriate audience}.
As the day wore long, Eden tired and eventually exclaimed, “Too many people!” Turning to me, eyes filled with a wicked gleam, she made a mystical motion with the wand, aimed it directly at me, and incanted, “You… Go!”
Who says children don’t intuitively know how to banish ogres?
And now, a treat in reward for reading this, pictures of Eden.
A three year old princess, preparing to banish those in need of banishment!
