Suddenly a question arose in my head... Why would I sell my soul? What would make me make such a gesture?
Today is Friday, a day when I was used to going to the market, following the urging of @dswigle who urges us to post on this day everything related to our need to buy or sell, so for me, Friday is a mercantile day.
I wrote a lot of stories about my shopping adventures, adventures in the sense that I tried to photograph in many stores and markets and many people got upset. Especially in the markets. They were probably afraid because they were not in order, did not follow the rules, or did not have the authorizations to be in those places. This situation bothered me and I lost my peace of mind about reporting on markets, shops, and fairs. That made me stop posting in our friend @dswigle's #MarketFriday challenge. With regret and a sense of guilt for abandoning a challenge that has helped me enormously in my evolution here. I decided to still write in the challenge when I think I found a less common subject ...
Ilinca
I've been a grandfather for almost two years. Unexpectedly, it was a surprise because our only son was not very determined to start family life.
Anyway, it happened, and on this occasion, I received a granddaughter as a gift. Ilinca! That's the name.
I say that I received a gift because we are involved in caring for the child, the parents being busy with their jobs and we have a lot of free time (theoretically), because we, my wife and I, have been retired for several years.
Thus, unexpectedly, our life changed radically, free time disappeared and another experience began. I have to say that there is a difference between being a parent and being a grandfather. Maybe you might think it's easier than grandpa because you have parenting experience. Not so, at least in my case. I don't want to sit and analyze why I think it's like that, I just wanted to say. It is not easier but it is much more beautiful.
When we took care of our child, we were overwhelmed by worries, ignorance, and the hardships of life in a totalitarian communist society. We could not and did not know how to enjoy enough the beauty of a child's evolution.
Now we can see how a child discovers the world around him, how a little girl discovers the world around her. It's amazing to see how quickly she learns, how quickly she knows what she likes and what she wants. In such a lying world it is comforting to see the part of life that does not know how to pretend, that does not know how to lie.
Ilinca goes straight and with open arms to what she likes and vehemently rejects what she does not like. There are no half measures. It is incredible that we can learn from such a small child, who still does not know how to speak, how our behavior should be.
In addition, Ilinca took us out of the lack of movement. Exercise is so necessary for health, especially for the elderly.
Ilinca doesn't know how to walk, Ilinca only knows how to run. Run all the time. We have to run after her.
Our life is happening more now in the park. Ilinca, after waking up, shows us the direction to the park. She never gets bored of the park, we do. As she walks out the door of the house, she can't be stopped until the park.
We had breakfast in the park.
Also in the park, we follow the pigeons,
In the park, we enjoy the water left after the latest rain.
I became a shadow. It's not what you might think, that I lost weight because of this permanent movement. I became Ilinca's shadow, both to protect her and to take as many pictures with her as possible.
I feel rejuvenated! this is the effect of a child on an old man. It is the most precious gift a child can make.
I said that Ilinca doesn't know how to walk, that she only knows how to run. It's not exactly true, she's still a little girl. Even if she is very determined in everything she does, even if she sometimes behaves like a boy, she is a girl, she is also romantic and she does not hesitate to take my hat if she thinks that this way she looks better.
Denise once said to me, referring to Ilinca, some wonderful words as only she can say.
What a delight to be able to watch her grow up.
I love how gentle you are with her and the sweetness that she gives back is exactly what she gets from you. That is true love. xo
Now it's time to explain why I chose to write about Ilinca, my granddaughter, in this post from #marketfriday where the rule is that we should only write about what can be sold or bought. About shops and merchandise. Even if @dswigle, our colleague Denise, loves the eclectic, we must not ignore the rules.
And yet, I think it fits into the theme. Remember the question at the beginning of the post? Why Would I Sell My Soul?
Well, I wouldn't sell my soul to stop the moment, to stay forever young, as Faust made the pact with the devil.
I would sell my soul if it were necessary for Ilincai!