1 January

Video: Robin Eats Her Carrots. First Vegetable. The Steps To Life In A New Year.

by Jon Katz

I have to say I never quite imagined that I would ever get excited about a three-month old baby eating carrots for the first time, but Robin had such a good time doing it – so did her parents – that the moment was infectious and ought to be shared. Some years ago, this might go into an album or diary, not it is shared on Facebook.

I am wary of the “cute” thing that shrouds so much of grandparenting, I take it more seriously than that. I think it is more important than that. My grandmother saved my life in so many ways, there was nothing cute about our relationship, there was so much love and encouragement.

It is about love, but more than that, I hope. The most interesting things for me to see about Robin are the first steps she is taking, the evolution into a fully-formed human with choice and consciousness. That is what I most want to see, I don’t care all that much how she looks, although I care about her eyes and ready smile.

So this is a special moment for the New Year, one that is exciting and hopeful to me, becauseĀ  it is, very literally, about life itself. In that sense, I am confident this will be a meaningful and hopeful year, life is just what it is all really about for all of us. No one can cloud those moments or take them away.

The new world of grandfathering, I wonder if I will ever get used to it. But it is for sure, fascinating. As to Robin, she seems to have a joy of life. If she loves carrots now, the world will only look better and better to her. In 2017, I will be watching and smiling and wondering.

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