The Power of Growth

The Power of Growth

Time flies. Year after year slips by, and in the blink of an eye we have reached the third year (a playful literary allusion in Guo-style). Yuanyuan has grown from a newborn crying for milk into a lively, energetic little boy. Ever since his second birthday, he seems to have made astonishing progress in both thinking and language. These innocent little thoughts and ideas bring so much joy to daily life. Through his words and actions, we can also catch a glimpse, from his childlike world, of the unstoppable power of growth.

At any time, the person Yuanyuan is closest to is always his mother. When he is unhappy with the world, he sometimes vents through “violence.” Of course, this is something that needs guidance and gradual correction, but for this tiny person, that is about the extent of the means he has to fight back against the world. Even so, he almost never raises a fist toward his mother. On the rare occasion that he hits her by accident, he will quickly say, “Yuanyuan doesn’t hit Mommy. Yuanyuan loves Mommy.”

Now, Yuanyuan is no longer glued to his mother every second. When she goes to work, he can quietly and patiently play by himself while waiting for her to come home. When he misses her very much, he will say that he wants to call her. At noon he can nap obediently, and he no longer cries hard just because he cannot see her. But when they meet again, he cannot help showering her with kisses to show how much he loves her.

Yuanyuan has started to think and make connections, and he often comes out with lines that are logical, hilarious, and impossible to argue with.

• When we gave him walnut kernels to eat, he refused at first. Dad said, “If you eat walnuts, you’ll become smarter.” Yuanyuan immediately came over to eat them, and while chewing he asked, “Then can Grandma still trick me now or not?” It is clear that at this age he has already started to recognize the various little lies adults tell, and he also senses the gap in understanding between children and grown-ups. He wants to grow up quickly.
• Grandpa went to the hospital and was found to have some early signs of cataracts. To get him to rest his eyes more, we would always tell him not to look at his phone too much, warning him to be careful about cataracts. One day, when Yuanyuan wanted to play with Dad and Dad was looking at his phone, Yuanyuan said very seriously, “Stop looking at your phone, or you’ll end up with cataracts.”
• When Grandma gave Yuanyuan water, she would tell him, “Do your own things yourself,” encouraging him to drink on his own. One evening, when Mom was brushing his teeth, Yuanyuan wanted to play with the toothbrush but could not grab it from her hand, so he shouted, “Do your own things yourself!” Everyone instantly felt there was no possible rebuttal.
• Yuanyuan does not like sad stories. Whenever a story reaches a sorrowful part, he either refuses to listen or says, “Don’t say things like that.” One day we were telling the story of “the little turtledove catching bugs,” and he did not want to hear it. When asked why, he said, “The little turtledove’s daddy and mommy went out. I don’t want Daddy and Mommy to go out.” It was deeply touching.

We have never counted exactly how many songs or English words Yuanyuan has learned. When he plays by himself, he will often suddenly sing a song or blurt out an English word here and there. Songs we have heard him sing all the way through include “White Dragon Horse,” “Happy Birthday,” “Happy New Year,” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

As for math, he can instantly recognize and count quantities up to three, but anything above four still confuses him from time to time.

After the Spring Festival, the first snowfall brought Yuanyuan a fever. In the middle of the night his temperature reached 39°C, so we took him to the hospital and waited in line to see a doctor. The Northwest Women and Children’s Hospital was very crowded, and there was only one doctor on duty that night, but the doctor was patient and thorough in examining each child, which was truly worthy of praise. It would take more than two hours before Yuanyuan’s turn, so we rented a room at a nearby hotel so he could rest first, then planned to return to the hospital when his number was almost up.

When the doctor checked his throat, the doctor habitually said, “Hold his head,” but Yuanyuan had already opened his mouth on his own. The doctor, pleasantly surprised, praised him: “Wonderful!” Then came the blood test. When the needle went in, Yuanyuan cried out once, and then, just like in the Qiaohu storybooks, he covered the spot with a little cotton ball and soon it did not hurt anymore.

Part of this was because he had repeatedly listened to Qiaohu stories about going to the hospital, so he was mentally prepared. Part of it was thanks to the patience of the elderly doctor at the clinic by the east gate of our neighborhood—when Yuanyuan first arrived at the hospital, he even shouted that he wanted “Grandpa Doctor from the east gate” to see him. And at home, Yuanyuan also has his own little doctor’s kit and likes to play doctor with family members in turn, so perhaps he feels that he and the doctors are in the same profession. In any case, the whole process was reassuring, and the result was fine too. There was basically nothing serious, so we took him back to the hotel to continue resting.

By the time we arrived at the hotel, it was already five in the morning. Everyone was utterly exhausted, but Yuanyuan suddenly became energetic and announced to Mom and Dad that he wanted a roujiamo, rice, dumplings... He looked as if he had a great appetite and a perfectly healthy body, and we could not help but feel relieved. Yuanyuan has always been very well-behaved. Even when his fever was 38 or 39 degrees, he still seemed in good spirits and played normally, which can easily lull people into lowering their guard.

Then, when it was time to check out at noon, Yuanyuan solemnly declared, “I’m not going home. I still want to stay here. This is a good hotel,” which left us both amused and exasperated.

Growth is an invisible yet very real force. It is a force that moves and astonishes us. And as our child grows, we too keep drawing strength from that growth, becoming tougher, more capable parents, and better versions of ourselves.