Can a three year old be a heroine? I think so. A hero or heroine is usually someone you admire for the courageous conduct they display during a stressful situation.
When Gramps and I visited Edan and her mom and dad a couple of months ago in their home we offered to stay with her overnight while our daughter and son-in-law went on a delayed anniversary/birthday trip to Sonoma, Ca. where they were married five years ago. The evening went fine with little fanfare at the bedtime hour. Edan insisted that PopPop (her name for Gramps) read to her the many stories she loves to read at bed time. Of course he obliged. Then he was instructed to lie down on the floor next to her bed while she closed her eyes. He did. She immediately fell asleep. The rest of the night was uneventful and she slept until eight o'clock the next morning. The next day when her parents called to check on the three of us, they wanted to talk to Edan. She displayed a slight air of annoyance when PopPop handed her the telephone. She curtly said, "Hello. I'm cooperating. Bye,"then handed the phone back to PopPop. It had been misting all morning, confirming the rainy weather forecast for the day. At noon the sun was shining, which signalled to the three of us that a walk to the distant playground was in order for the afternoon. We bundled up for the cool but clear afternoon, grabbed the stroller that this sturdy three year old can still fit into, and took off for the playground which was a good half mile away. Edan was still "cooperating" and rode willingly in the stroller. We left the three umbrellas at home since the mist had stopped earlier in the day. As she always does, Edan enjoyed playing in the distant playground which is close to where her best friend lives. There was a small one year old baby girl and her mom from France there. Edan immediately struck up a friendship with the mom and the little girl who was just learning to walk. She played ball with her, dug in the sandbox and just generally enjoyed playing with her new small girlfriend. Eventually a group of other girls came with their nanny to the playground but Edan was happy playing with the baby. Suddenly a small cloud appeared in the sky and a few drops of rain fell on our heads. We all dashed under the awning to wait until the cloud dispensed. To our surprise the sky opened up and a powerful shower began. We were protected from the rain and the girls all seemed to be happy playing. After fifteen minutes or so, the French mom and the nanny decided they would dash home with their girls during a brief respite from the heavy rain. PopPop and I gathered Edan, bundled her up in extra bunting in the stroller, unrolled the stroller awning to protect her from the gently falling rain, and we started on the half mile trip back to Edan's home. As soon as we hit the main street, the skies opened and a downpour began. Rain is common in San Francisco, but flooding must be rare because within a very few minutes the streets became rivers and the low places in the streets became lakes. Our umbrellas, our protection from the rain, were back at the house so PopPop and I quickly became drenched. We kept running on the sidewalks which were ankle deep in rain water at this point in time. Edan was staying pretty dry because the awning to the stroller protected her head and upper body, but her legs were becoming wet with rain water. There were very few people out in the deluge. They had all either taken refuge in a coffee shop, a restaurant, a store or were warmly watching the storm in the comfort of their homes or apartments. Edan, PopPop and I were the only visibly unprepared people on the streets. The two or three other people out in the deluge had huge umbrellas under which they walked in their furry jackets and fur trimmed boots. Did we look like unprepared tourists or not? Yes, we did. Edan remained calm, cool and collected as we sang songs and talked about our adventure, as if the flood had been a planned event for the day. We spotted the opening to a garage that would provide plenty of protection from the deluge for Edan and me while PopPop ran back two blocks to a drug store to purchase some umbrellas. Edan and I sang to the rain, "Rain, rain, go away. Come back another day." She commented that she didn't think the rain could hear us or it wasn't listening. So we sang it louder. Sure enough, the rain started slowing down and eventually was only a drizzle just as PopPop arrived with the newly purchased umbrellas. We resumed our trip back to the house. The streets were still like rivers and the four cornered intersections looked like lakes. Owners of businesses were all out in the streets, sweeping out the storm drains, clearing them of fallen leaves, limbs and debris so that the water would drain and business would hopefully resume again. Photographers were out with their fancy cameras taking pictures of what looked like the 100 year flood. We were having a hard time finding a place to cross the street without being knee deep in raging water. We knew that we couldn't carry Edan inside the stroller into the swiftly flowing rivers which previously had been streets only thirty minutes earlier. Suddenly a young woman appeared from behind us and told us to follow her to a stroller-friendly coffee shop across the street. She backtracked up the street and crossed at a place which was only ankle deep in flowing water. We willingly followed and entered the coffee shop looking like three water soaked cats. Edan was the picture of calmness and confidence, not scared at all, not even looking like she was the least bit perturbed at the events of the ill fated past forty-five minutes. We ordered hot chocolate for Edan and hot coffee for us, also ordered huge cookies and sat at a table to wait until the waters subsided. Since Edan doesn't like chocolate, she only ate the whipped cream on the top of the hot chocolate so I added the cocoa to my coffee. She did enjoy the huge macaroon cookie, though, eating it with gusto, even though she had had a large snack with the baby at the playground. When the rain completely stopped, we gathered our only slightly used umbrellas, the stroller and Edan and walked the rest of the way home. Edan's home never looked so good to PopPop and MeMe. Edan, still the calm, cool, collected three year old didn't seem negatively affected in the least by the frightening events of the afternoon. She ran up the stairs to the house and invited us to join her in playing with her toys, which we did even though we were emotionally exhausted from surviving the 100 year flood with our three year old grand daughter. Edan is a trooper. She proved that to us. Not one whimper, not one gripe, not one shutter, not one cry, not one groan during the entire ordeal. I know some adults I wish could have such calm composure during stressful events like she did. I think Edan will always believe that rain will go away if you tell it loudly enough and with firm authority to," Go away. Come back another day, " because it began "cooperating" when we gave it those exact orders. We should have thought to do it earlier, I guess. I just didn't dream it would be "cooperating" like Edan is.
When Gramps and I visited Edan and her mom and dad a couple of months ago in their home we offered to stay with her overnight while our daughter and son-in-law went on a delayed anniversary/birthday trip to Sonoma, Ca. where they were married five years ago. The evening went fine with little fanfare at the bedtime hour. Edan insisted that PopPop (her name for Gramps) read to her the many stories she loves to read at bed time. Of course he obliged. Then he was instructed to lie down on the floor next to her bed while she closed her eyes. He did. She immediately fell asleep. The rest of the night was uneventful and she slept until eight o'clock the next morning. The next day when her parents called to check on the three of us, they wanted to talk to Edan. She displayed a slight air of annoyance when PopPop handed her the telephone. She curtly said, "Hello. I'm cooperating. Bye,"then handed the phone back to PopPop. It had been misting all morning, confirming the rainy weather forecast for the day. At noon the sun was shining, which signalled to the three of us that a walk to the distant playground was in order for the afternoon. We bundled up for the cool but clear afternoon, grabbed the stroller that this sturdy three year old can still fit into, and took off for the playground which was a good half mile away. Edan was still "cooperating" and rode willingly in the stroller. We left the three umbrellas at home since the mist had stopped earlier in the day. As she always does, Edan enjoyed playing in the distant playground which is close to where her best friend lives. There was a small one year old baby girl and her mom from France there. Edan immediately struck up a friendship with the mom and the little girl who was just learning to walk. She played ball with her, dug in the sandbox and just generally enjoyed playing with her new small girlfriend. Eventually a group of other girls came with their nanny to the playground but Edan was happy playing with the baby. Suddenly a small cloud appeared in the sky and a few drops of rain fell on our heads. We all dashed under the awning to wait until the cloud dispensed. To our surprise the sky opened up and a powerful shower began. We were protected from the rain and the girls all seemed to be happy playing. After fifteen minutes or so, the French mom and the nanny decided they would dash home with their girls during a brief respite from the heavy rain. PopPop and I gathered Edan, bundled her up in extra bunting in the stroller, unrolled the stroller awning to protect her from the gently falling rain, and we started on the half mile trip back to Edan's home. As soon as we hit the main street, the skies opened and a downpour began. Rain is common in San Francisco, but flooding must be rare because within a very few minutes the streets became rivers and the low places in the streets became lakes. Our umbrellas, our protection from the rain, were back at the house so PopPop and I quickly became drenched. We kept running on the sidewalks which were ankle deep in rain water at this point in time. Edan was staying pretty dry because the awning to the stroller protected her head and upper body, but her legs were becoming wet with rain water. There were very few people out in the deluge. They had all either taken refuge in a coffee shop, a restaurant, a store or were warmly watching the storm in the comfort of their homes or apartments. Edan, PopPop and I were the only visibly unprepared people on the streets. The two or three other people out in the deluge had huge umbrellas under which they walked in their furry jackets and fur trimmed boots. Did we look like unprepared tourists or not? Yes, we did. Edan remained calm, cool and collected as we sang songs and talked about our adventure, as if the flood had been a planned event for the day. We spotted the opening to a garage that would provide plenty of protection from the deluge for Edan and me while PopPop ran back two blocks to a drug store to purchase some umbrellas. Edan and I sang to the rain, "Rain, rain, go away. Come back another day." She commented that she didn't think the rain could hear us or it wasn't listening. So we sang it louder. Sure enough, the rain started slowing down and eventually was only a drizzle just as PopPop arrived with the newly purchased umbrellas. We resumed our trip back to the house. The streets were still like rivers and the four cornered intersections looked like lakes. Owners of businesses were all out in the streets, sweeping out the storm drains, clearing them of fallen leaves, limbs and debris so that the water would drain and business would hopefully resume again. Photographers were out with their fancy cameras taking pictures of what looked like the 100 year flood. We were having a hard time finding a place to cross the street without being knee deep in raging water. We knew that we couldn't carry Edan inside the stroller into the swiftly flowing rivers which previously had been streets only thirty minutes earlier. Suddenly a young woman appeared from behind us and told us to follow her to a stroller-friendly coffee shop across the street. She backtracked up the street and crossed at a place which was only ankle deep in flowing water. We willingly followed and entered the coffee shop looking like three water soaked cats. Edan was the picture of calmness and confidence, not scared at all, not even looking like she was the least bit perturbed at the events of the ill fated past forty-five minutes. We ordered hot chocolate for Edan and hot coffee for us, also ordered huge cookies and sat at a table to wait until the waters subsided. Since Edan doesn't like chocolate, she only ate the whipped cream on the top of the hot chocolate so I added the cocoa to my coffee. She did enjoy the huge macaroon cookie, though, eating it with gusto, even though she had had a large snack with the baby at the playground. When the rain completely stopped, we gathered our only slightly used umbrellas, the stroller and Edan and walked the rest of the way home. Edan's home never looked so good to PopPop and MeMe. Edan, still the calm, cool, collected three year old didn't seem negatively affected in the least by the frightening events of the afternoon. She ran up the stairs to the house and invited us to join her in playing with her toys, which we did even though we were emotionally exhausted from surviving the 100 year flood with our three year old grand daughter. Edan is a trooper. She proved that to us. Not one whimper, not one gripe, not one shutter, not one cry, not one groan during the entire ordeal. I know some adults I wish could have such calm composure during stressful events like she did. I think Edan will always believe that rain will go away if you tell it loudly enough and with firm authority to," Go away. Come back another day, " because it began "cooperating" when we gave it those exact orders. We should have thought to do it earlier, I guess. I just didn't dream it would be "cooperating" like Edan is.
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