see? touch? hold? have?

That’s what my toddler grandson asks when he notices something he wants to explore. Usually he gets to third base, and usually that’s enough. His curiosity is satisfied. Once in a while, when the fourth request gets denied, he gets a little assertive. Well, after all, he’s only human.
I’m thinking about how the step-by-step process his mother has taught him as a way to move out into the wider world, to expand his horizons, while still respecting the fact that others exist in that world too, is going to benefit him greatly as gets older. He’s not afraid to go after what he wants. And he understands that he can’t have everything he wants. What he can have, though, and what he pursues, is information, experience, understanding. That comes first before ownership. And it’s often enough. Often, it has to be enough.

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