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think the best example of a "happy accident" in my own life would be the birth of my grandson Bugman. This child was conceived during a turbulent time in his parent’s life. When I learned of this, and that the conception was aimed toward a resolve that was intended to mend all the wrongs that the parents could not mend themselves, I had real doubts, and I felt sad. He was born on December 5th, 2001- (a chaotic year in general to say the least), but with the coming of the New Year, and his arrival, he was left with me and my husband for a time, because his parents still had issues to iron out. However, as I got to know this little guy, and watch him grow and develop things inside, for me, changed. I was no longer stressing about his parents issues; I had Bugman running around, bumping, getting into things, and just plain scaring the hell out of me at times. But, he was so resilient, happy, inquisitive, and unconditionally grateful and loving- I was enjoying having him in my life. The learning that I gained from the Bugman experience was just a simple re-introduction to seeing, and thinking of things outside the box in order to work it. Who better than a kid can teach you that?
Some Lessons I Learned with the Bugman
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- For a person to have a "prepared mind" as Pasteur describes, one needs to explore, experiment, and take note of the results, (like the kid gets all hyper and breaks out in a rash when you give him sugary strawberries), that’s when you have those “Aha” moments, and become more open minded to alternatives, (like grapes instead of strawberries & sugar to satisfy that sweet tooth).
- How can a person prepare his or her mind to be open to chance? Wait for the first time the kid streams in smeared with cat poop, because you forgot to put the child gate up by the cat box, (that won’t happen again).
- The most affective thing about the science of grandchildren is that makes it particularly important for people to analyze their accidents in the laws of probability. It forces them to weigh the pros and cons of not preparing for an event, (I refer you to the cat box incident).
There are a lot of risks associated with the science of grand parenting that involves chance.
Just like the chances and risks that Madam Curie took with her experimentation and involvement
with radiation where she eventually died of a leukemia, taking a project like Bugman on requires
researching his diet, taking chances by using different approaches in traumatic moments, varying
discipline, and forms of play time, etc. Even though all this hypothesizing and experimentation
can result in more grey hairs than you started out with, the risks are worth it.
Marie and Pierre Curie for fronted the radiology’s, in their science, but I had the privilege
and the pleasure through risk, chance, and experimentation, of being a part of the fine young
human being.
(Kit- Sept. 2011) © by Kit Morgan 2011
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