Yesterday I went to a friend’s house to see her brand new grand-baby. Today she told me the boy’s height was “100 percentile rank.” He must be the highest in the range, though I don’t think one can have the perfect 100 percentile.
“He will be a tall boy,” I said.
“Looks like it. When he grows up, we will be small old men and women,” she said.
It doesn’t sound upbeat. So I said, “Don’t think about it now. Enjoy the present. We will be lucky to be around when he grows up.”
Even better. I told her if you think you have a wonderful grand-baby, don’t you think the baby deserves a wonderful grandmother? Think about what kind of grandma you want to be for this baby? Of course you will be a great grandma! But in what way? I don’t think he will be in want of any material things. Here’s the niche that you can fill in — you are the key to his being bilingual [given the fact that the baby’s father is an American]…
This reminds me of the time when my daughter told me about her friend who was an inspiration to her. I said to her, “Don’t you feel you want to do something to prove you are as worthy a friend to her as she to you?”
Perhaps we all feel this way when we are among good friends. Call it peer pressure. But I don’t know how many parents or grandparents ever feel the pressure to be equally great when they are holding a great baby.