shameless
I took the 188 home today. I sat at the empty top deck, on the leftmost seat closest to the huge front windows of the bus. At the following stop, a young couple and their son joined me. The little boy looked about three. His name is Santiago.
The mother sat next to me at first, with Santiago and his father taking the two seats across the aisle. When Mamá said, “Siéntese, Santiago!” the boy stood up instead. And when she said, “Escucha,” rather than listening as he was told, he turned his head the opposite way. Clearly, the boy was in no mood to be obedient.
They switched seats, his father now sat next to me and his mamá next to him. Still, Santiago kept his head turned away from them, standing as the bus swayed, his arms crossed, his lips in a pout. Mamá took out a banana and sweetly asked him to eat. He tightened his mouth. After a few minutes of her patient persuasion, he finally took a small bite, followed by another, then just one more. Mamá asked him to finish his food, but “No lo quiero,” the boy said. I don’t want it. Papá took the rest of the fruit and finished it for his son.
Mamá cradled Santiago the rest of the ride, and Papá pointed to the clear glass in front of us. A bird flew past the window, and Papá exclaimed to him, “Mira, Santiago, un pájaro!” (Look, Santiago, a bird!) As we passed underneath a bridge with a train running on it, Mamá put her arms arms around her unwilling boy and shook his stomach playfully to sound of the train, cooing chug-a-chug, chug-a-chug, chug-a-chug.
“Mira, Santiago, el tren!”
“Mira, Santiago, Tower Bridge!”
“Mira, Santiago…”
And I thought to myself, look at this love. This shameless love. No matter how many times he doesn’t listen or does exactly the opposite of what is asked of him, they don’t deny him their affection. They don’t deny him the world. I think it’s because they cannot. They love Santiago so shamelessly it doesn’t matter what he does. I realize this is the love my own parents try to teach me. Shameless. Full.
Perhaps, then, I should listen, and for once, be obedient. Love shamelessly. Care for another’s sake, without expectations of having the affection returned. Love another so fully that the love is enough to live on, to exist for, without it being conditional upon reciprocation.
The trouble is this takes humility I do not possess and courage I have not yet learned. Maybe if I practice, I could get better.
<3