Who Cares?

It's hard to believe I've been in Canada for two weeks because it feels like I just got here yesterday. I'm always amazed at how quickly the time passes when I'm here ... the days literally seem to fly by. This particular visit couldn't have come at a better time for Matt and Becca ... they and their sweet girls had been sick for almost a week when I arrived, and they readily welcomed having some help. When you aren't around them all the time, it's easy to forget how crazy active little ones can be, how little they sleep at night when they don't feel well, or how their smiles and laughter can make your heart melt like butter. I've enjoyed every single minute of my time here, sore throat and achy ears included, and I hope I've been able to give Matt and Becca at least a small break in the day-to-day routine of caring for a toddler and an infant.

Coraline has asked me at least a million questions since I got here ... she reminds me a lot of her Uncle Brad when he was a little guy when it comes to asking questions. Brad was like a non-stop question machine ... he was constantly asking me what things were made of or where things came from or how to put something together or why the sun wasn't a square or how Batman got his costume off to pee or who decided dogs were dogs and cats were cats ... yep, that was my Bradley alright ... Mr. Rapid-fire Question Man from the top of his head to the bottom of his toes. I was thinking last night when I was reading to Coraline and she stopped me to ask me why my ears were big ... no, really, she did ... I was thinking how fun it would be to have a time machine and be able to put 3-year-old Brad in a room with 3-year-old Coraline. I can't even begin to imagine the questions the two of them would think of together, but I'm sure they would be mind-blowing and totally awesome.

One of the first questions Coraline asked me upon my arrival was presented to me as she sat upon her Ikea potty. With a look of complete seriousness on her adorable little face, she said, "Ghee, do you poop a wot?" I was trying super hard not to laugh as I replied, "Uhmmm ... well ... uhmmm ... uhmmm ... I uhmmm ... I don't know." Coraline's little brow was furrowed as she thought about my answer and I could see her little mind processing my less than stellar response. "Ghee, you don't know you poop a wot or not?" Seeing that I was going to be forced to provide a more acceptable answer to my genius granddaughter, I changed my answer to "Yes, Coraline, I poop a lot." Never in a gazillion years could I have prepared myself for her next comment ... never ever in a gazillion years. "Ghee, if you eat da healfy food you poop a wot. I poop a wot, Ghee, acause I eat da healfy food and not da junk food. But sometimes I wike da junk food, Ghee." Though I'm sure parents are often embarrassed by what their kiddos say, I'm sure down deep inside we can all agree that one of the greatest things about little kids is their honesty.

Answering Coraline's bazillion questions over the course of the last couple of weeks has caused me to do a lot of thinking ... about important things like death ... "Ghee, do you have a die one day?" ... and about not so important things like cheese ... "Ghee, do you wike cheese?" But so much more than causing me to think about how many teeth a raccoon has or where plastic comes from or what's inside a throat lozenge, Coraline's ceaseless stream of questions has caused me to think about the questions we ask one another ... no, that's not right ... Coraline's questions have made me think about how much we shy away from asking the questions we should be asking each other. And even more, my sweet granddaughter's litany of questions has caused me to understand that we only ask superficial questions of one another because we only want to hear superficial answers. We don't ask deep or tough questions because we don't care to hear the deep or tough answers we may receive. We don't ask about the things that really matter ... we don't ask because we don't care.

Here's the thing, friends ... the really important lesson I've learned from Coraline's multitude of questions ... if she didn't care about me, if she didn't love me, if she didn't know me, she wouldn't be asking me anything. 

Think about it ... who cares? Who really and truly cares? Do you? Do I?