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BEAR'S SWEETNESS, CAPTURED BY HIS MOM, NIKKI |
A new phase of my life started when my kids gave life to kids. I was presented with an opportunity to find a new name for this next chapter. My chosen moniker for my Grandmothering days is Gammy—Grammy without the 'R' because of the troublesome nature that specific letter brings to the mouth of babes. Actually, whatever comes out of their mouths is loved and suits me just fine. Gammy has been shortened to Gams, on occasion changed to Gamma and my favorite term of endearment . . . Gamma Goo. The two year olds have my heart at the moment with Gamey. Their pronunciation escorts my thoughts directly to our outdoor freezer, the holding space for frozen wild game—venison, red stag, elk—courtesy of our resident hunter gatherer. Grateful for the bounty that Nature has bestowed. Grateful for my little family bounty, whichever name they choose. My little Unconditional Loves.
My familial signature needed a bit of a backdrop before I could tell
my story. This short, sweet narrative is about Bear Thomas Matthew Allard,
Matty and Nikki’s youngest. What happens when the words of a 2 year old touch
your heart, tap on the window to your soul? A spiritual light is turned
on illuminating another of the chambers of the soul's darkness—the spaces of
the "I can't remember". Memories awaken. Unconditional Love is
greeted with a new understanding, guided to the heart—taking up residence and clearing
out any old beliefs I once held about Love.
Bampy and I had an overnight this week; time to let Nikki catch
up on some school work. The morning after with Bampy long gone, in the flurry
of activity it takes one Gammy to get two Little Ones out of the house and to
daycare at a reasonable time, I saw Bear Bear tug on his ear. Ear infections
and strep throat seem to have taken up seasonal residency in Nikki’s household.
By the time we walked through the front doors of “school”, Bear was letting me
know that his ear “hoited”. Never shall the word hurt, once it enters Gammy’s
ear canal, lead to anything other than action—he’s hurting, I must take him back
home!
It was a special day with my Bear Bear. We built the tallest
block towers; took in the adventures of Thomas & Friends, spending time
with the talkative trains and the lessons of nice that one can learn while on
the Island of Sodor. We spent time in the home office playing numbers on
Bamby’s calculator, read books and fell asleep to lullabies. We ate healthy and
not-so-healthy snacks, marveled at the crazy hair of the dolls his sister and
his girl cousins seem so enamored with. We had a rather quiet, loving day. He
talked up a storm—some I understood, some I did not however, many times I was
asked from this beautiful tiny soul light, “You happy Gamey?” “I am Bear”, I’d
reply. “I happy Gamey”. . . and my heart would skip a beat and I’d become
filled with the softest, most gentle, totally enveloping sensation—unconditional
love.
Unconditional Love I define as the strongest form of
Love. A Love given freely with no expectation of receiving anything in return.
A Love hard-wired with forgiveness. A fearless Love, a total giving of the
self Love. A Love disconnected from ego. A Love that enters the heart as a sensation
yet leaves as an action. A Love existing solely to bring happiness and joy.
A two year old, with his life experience consisting of
having his every need and want cared for and met; a toddler learning to share,
to talk, to run, to maneuver the ups and downs of a staircase is concerned with my
happiness. Participating in this moment, listening as Bear Bear communicates
his heart, shows me he is made of a natural, true, pure form of organic
love.
It's important to nurture that which has been given
to the heart from the soul. I can accept my part in this calling to our
Village; in this responsibility of helping, teaching Bear to hold onto Love by allowing
this special moment to change me. Special—a word Matty used oftentimes in describing his
children. “Mom, my kids are going to be special”. I’d shield an internal smile,
agree with him wholeheartedly. I've learned and observed objectivity seems to fly out the window
when it comes to our own children—and don’t we all think our children are
Special!
The happiness in you is the happiness in me is what I was sensing from Bear Bear. Seeing life with my heart eyes; sharing through his innocence, seeing, feeling a glimpse of our Divine gift of birth. The soul
holds the mysteries of life; the answers to the questions who am I, why am I
here—remembered rather than forgotten. Bear comes to this life with
unconditional love remembered. He is a gentle child who is genuinely happy,
loving; a child who learned a way to communicate through song before words paved
the way. He would hum a few bars of his favorite TV cartoon signaling to us a
channel change was needed. Our bundle of pure joy.
In the past, I’ve associated unconditional love with the
parent-child-grandchild relationship. I’m more familiar with Conditional Love,
prefaced with an Un- on good/better days for the rest of my heart connections. I
seek Knowing, grief has ensured the seeker’s path. To feel a Love so deep that
a moment of trauma shatters a family, breaks hearts, turns the meaning of life
on its head—I walk a path to greater understanding, to awakening, to peace, to
comfort, to joy, to a renewed perspective, to the experience of Knowing. My grief,
carrying the added weight of Matty’s family left behind, brings me to this
moment of Special. I am beginning to see what Matty sees. Special is a Love remembered
and not forgotten. Special blesses me with an awakened view from the eyes of a
child—eyes to the window of the soul. Can the practice of unconditional Love lift
the sorrow of Matty’s passing; a sorrow generated from a deep Love? Will healing come in
the form of a greater Love, a bigger Love, a more true form of Love? Have the pure
words of a two year old presented me with the key to a greater spiritual understanding?
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE WHISPERS
Look for me
Find me
See me
Feel me
I live deep within your BE-ING
Grasp me
Hold me
Release me
Share me
Give me
I am Endless
I am Source
I can never be taken away
I was the first gift you ever
received
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