My most favourite nephew in the world is staying with me this week from Glasgow. He also happens to be my only nephew in the world, but that makes him more, not less special. Suffice to say, we’ve been having a lot of fun.
As I wrote elsewhere, James has the smartest way of looking at the world of anybody I know. I’ve been paying attention to the things that define him in the hope I can learn a thing or two.
Excitement
The term “zest for life” sounds like a cliché around this wee guy. He whoops and whirls and has this take-your-breath-away enthusiasm for things that’s just so compelling. We’ll be chilling in the garden, or walking along our little countryside pathways, when he’ll spot something. A kite flying directly overhead. A rabbit darting into a hedge. The wild ponies on the hill. His entire being lights up as he sees it and stops in his tracks mesmerised.
His sense of wonder in things is so refreshing.
And it makes me consider how much we take for granted in our adult world. How retrieving a sense of awe would feed the child in us.
Fun
My living room currently resembles an art studio. I’ve got quirky hand drawn posters of my village in one corner and a cast of toys lined up in another. My iPhone, Mac and music library have been commandeered for video making purposes. Not kidding, but this child is teaching me how to use iMovie 
He squeals out loud when he finds something funny. There’s no self-judgement or monitoring.
And he causes me to think about how much – or, indeed, how little – we allow ourselves to unreservedly indulge our playfulness. How we sometimes just need to relax and allow a belly-laugh to knock something crazy into shape.
Spontaneity
Can’t do something we imagined we might? No problem for James, there’s always some other exciting possibility of where to direct his attention. Can’t do that walking route you’d mapped out because it’s raining? Let’s make another video, or even go into town and watch Toy Story 3.
“Holidays are for chilling,” he told me the other day as I was obviously getting a little too structured in my planning of things to do. So I backed off and let him chill.
His approach made me reflect on how often, when things don’t work out as we imagined, we get caught up in our disappointment, instead of putting our attention where things can work out for us.
“Are you having fun?” I asked him today.
“Yes,” he said.
“More so than when you’re at school?” I asked. Perhaps I was looking for admiration. Perhaps putting onto him my expectations that school would be boring, holidays not. Whatever, his reply surprised me.
“No,” he said. Huh.
“So, you like school and holidays equally?” I said.
“Yes,” he said.
“You’re pretty happy with life in general, whatever you’re doing?” I said.
“Uh-huh.”
“What is it about life that you so enjoy, then?” I said.
He gave this question some serious thought. A flash of inspiration suddenly caught his face.
“Basically, I enjoy anything you can get yourself stuck into,” he said, smiling widely.
Flippin’ ten year old wisdom. You’ve got to love it!
