Wonder — a grandparent’s best


By DOROTHY BROTHERTON It’s a holy moment. Don’t rush; stop and


savour it. It may be that moment when your grand- child first learns to blow on dandelion seeds to make the little parachutes dance in the wind and scatter across the lawn. It may be that moment when you are ly- ing on the summer lawn together, finding pictures in the clouds.Or a moment when you giggle over The Sneetches of Dr.Seuss fame. It may be a moment you are bent over a


bridge railing together at Hardy Falls watch- ing the salmon run. Or when you are care- fully holding back branches to reveal a spi- der’s fine handiwork. It may be as you’re standing together in the shallows of Okanagan Lake, letting the waves lap on your ankles, and your toddler observes it with all the seriousness of an engineer doing hydraulic studies. It may happen when you are cuddling in her bed, and your 10-year-old grand- daughter tells you about her thoughts of heaven.


Santa’s Express


Shop


December 2nd • 4 pm - 8 pm 30+


Rutland Centennial Hall 180 Rutland Road, Kelowna Fantastic Local Crafters, Artisans


& Known Home Based Businesses Entertainment, Door Prizes, Refreshments & More!


ADMISSION BY DONATION FOR THE SALVATION ARMY’S TOY DRIVE - CASH OR NEW UNWRAPPED TOY.


Everyone’s ONE STOP Homebased Business Shop!


50+


Busy Women’s Express Shop 2ND ANNUAL CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA


Rutland Centennial Hall 180 Rutland Road, Kelowna Fantastic Local Crafters, Artisans & Known Home Based Businesses


December 3rd • 9 am - 3 pm


Entertainment, Door Prizes, Bake Sale, Refreshments & More! – SWAG BAG FOR THE FIRST 50 PEOPLE THROUGH THE DOOR!! – ADMISSION BY DONATION FOR THE FOOD BANK


CASH WILL BE DONATED TO THE GOSPEL MISSION FOR CHRISTMAS DINNERS. One Stop Shopping for all The Little People in Your Life


Get into the spirit of the season and create holiday magic with Family Sundays at the Kelowna Art Gallery!


November 27: Holiday Cards December 4: Holiday Ornaments December 11: Paint a Plate December 18: Fantastic Frames


SPECIAL EVENT: Starlight Lanterns Saturday, December 3, 10 am to 4:30 pm


Create beautiful starlight lanterns for the Downtown Light Up celebration. Then, bring your lantern to the Light Up celebration at Kerry Park at 6 pm.


Pre-registration for Starlight Lanterns is required, call the Gallery at 250.762.2226.


Cost is $4 per person, which includes participation in the activity and gallery admission.


1315 Water Steet, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 9R3 250.762.2226


Maybe it’s during an autumn stroll at Gellatly Nut Farm, and your grandchild says, “Grandma, this is cool. I’d like to walk in a place like this forever.”


These are moments of wonder.


Grandparents get to capture these mo- ments.We are often the ones who have more time to spend with little ones than busy parents do.We walk at a slower pace, like kids do.We get to notice the shiny rock, the bright leaf, the old nail—anything worth pick- ing up. We are the ones, I think, who are unique- ly suited to teach grandchildren about won- der. Or maybe it’s that they teach us. Children are naturally filled with wonder, if they are allowed to explore their world. Almost everything is a new experience for them:The way water runs into the bathtub, the way legs feel climbing a hill, the taste of applesauce, the magnificence of the trucks that pick up garbage. As grandparents, we can encourage their sense of wonder, mainly by giving them space.Sometimes we get to point out some wonder-filled thing to them—the baby faces in the pansies, or how, if you pull on the


feathery green plant, a carrot comes up from the ground. One day I put my toddler grandson to work helping me shuck corn. He took the job se- riously and proceeded to carefully peel away layer after layer from the first object I handed to him, just as I showed him. But I neglected to tell him exactly what he’d find inside the package. When the yellow kernels were revealed, he held it out to me, big-eyed. He said with surprise in his voice, “Grandma, it’s corn!” He had experienced the wonder of discov- ering how his favourite vegetable grows. In winter, we may feel it’s harder to find things to wonder about, when our Okanagan landscape turns brown and frozen.Frost on the windowpane is a perfect candidate. Don’t worry about messing up the window. Let the little ones draw pictures. Check out snow together. Don’t just do the chase and toss and squeal games, but hold very still and catch falling flakes on your tongue.


Look up together and watch the white magic swirling down. As grandchildren grow older, their activi-


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