“There’s no greater music than the sound of [our] grandchildren laughing.”
—Sylvia Earle
Today we celebrate National Grandparents Day, to acknowledge the bond between grandparents and their grandchildren. It is said that this special connection has proven to make grandparents live longer, and make children more emotionally resilient. It was Marian McQuade who was recognized nationally by the US Senate and by President Jimmy Carter as the founder of National Grandparents Day. McQuade’s motivation was to educate the youth about the important contributions grandparents have made in the lives of children throughout history. On August 3, 1978, Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation, that officially declared National Grandparents Day in 1979.
Cecile and I got to celebrate early, as our daughter Michelle decided to work from our home on Friday, while we played with Lyla. Cecile (Nana) made Lyla breakfast, and afterward, we read her stories, got out the coloring books, play dough, finger puppets, sang together.
Later in the afternoon, Lyla took me by the hand and led me to the carpet-covered stairs and said, “Up!” Using both her hands and her feet she climbed to the top of the landing, refusing my assistance. We walked down the hallway and she intentionally stopped to give a high-five to a bronze Buddha’s outstretched right hand. I had brought this one home from one of my trips to India some years ago (photo). The right hand held upright with the palm facing forward, referred to as a "mudra" in Sanskrit, symbolizes fearlessness and protection and the left hand held palm-up on its' lap is a meditative gesture. We continued to the back bedroom our son Jason used to occupy when he moved back from LA and where Lyla's portable crib was set up. She was particularly interested on the items on his desk. “Up,” she said again, indicating she wanted to sit on top of his desk. She was particularly interested in the framed photos of Jason, a golden giraffe, the TV channel changer and most of all the snooze alarm which after repeatedly pushing all the buttons, and much to our surprise went off at 8:30 AM on Saturday morning.
We then went into my office next to the bedroom, we looked at family photo albums I had stored under my desk. I also let her ring a temple bell gifted to me by our good friend Maybelle from Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma).
I then pulled down a Native Slit Tongue Log Drum, a percussion instrument made with a rich rosewood finish, and two soft mallets from my display shelf above the credenza I collected from my travels for Lyla to play and recorded her debut performance. She joyfully struck six distinct warm musical tones. I am sure our precious little angel will be returning for an encore performance in the near future.
