I’ve Been Swimming with Sea Creatures

Now I can almost hear you asking how in the world I am managing that, so let me explain. These little creatures are the souls and personalities of my grandchildren, brought to life in an enchanting world beneath the sea, and I am having more fun writing about them than I have had in a very long time.

In our family, sixteen is a rite of passage, the age when each of my sons took control of his own financial future, and most of them marked it by building a business with me. Tim, my fourth son, had already started several businesses and saved for his college and his mission, so when his sixteenth birthday came, he asked if we could write a book together instead, and so we did. He would write a chapter, then I would write a chapter, and with the help of his friends we created Even If Your Toes Turn Purple: Raising Confident Teens That Are Powerful and Stand Out, which remains one of the great experiences of my life as a father and, until now, the most fun I have ever had writing a book. This new project is running a very close second, because I am writing for my beautiful little grandchildren monsters, only this time it is being done as a secret surprise.

The book is called The Wisdom of a Grandfather, and I am dedicating a chapter to each of my grandchildren. Every chapter carries one of our core family values, but rather than preaching those values, I am letting them unfold through the adventures of magical, mystical, and sometimes mischievous sea creatures, with each grandchild becoming a character in this epic little saga beneath the waves. There are seahorses and lionfish, otters and blowfish, starfish and dolphins, and even a rather frightening Moray Eel lurking in the shadows, and every once in a while an ancient sea turtle glides in from the deep, carrying a little wisdom from the generations who came before us.

Oh, what fun I am having! It is playful and imaginative and more than a little outrageous, but underneath all that whimsy lies something that matters to me more deeply than I can easily say. At this stage of my life there is nothing, absolutely nothing, more important to me than helping stabilize the foundation, the core beliefs, the values, and the future of my grandchildren, my great grandchildren, and my great great grandchildren. Businesses come and go, fortunes rise and fall, and even a beloved cabin can burn to the ground, but the values we plant in the hearts of our posterity can endure for generations.

So I thought I would pull back the curtain and invite you to swim around with me for a few minutes. Here is one of the stories.

Cecilia and the Grand Pink Ball

Cecilia the Seahorse,
So pink and so bright,
Had magic that shimmered
And sparkled with light.

She gathered pink coral,
She gathered pink sand,
She roamed day and night
From the reef to the strand.

She gathered by sunrise,
She gathered with glee,
And stacked up her treasures
As tall as could be.

Her burden grew heavy,
Her delights became few,
Till one day she wondered,
“Oh, what should I do?”

Then Dash the bright Damselfish
Zipped through the kelp,
Doing loops round her tower
With a whoop and a yelp.

“Cecilia, come play!
Come chase me! Come race!”
And he flicked a pink pebble
Right out of its place.

“Not now!” cried Cecilia.
“Can’t you see I’m too busy?
I’ve coral to gather!”
And she worked herself dizzy.

Then Bobo the Blowfish
Came bobbing in near,
With a grin so enormous
It wobbled with cheer.

He wore every feeling
Right out on his fins,
And he bubbled with giggles
And mischievous grins.

He puffed himself up
Like a big spiky ball,
But Cecilia, too busy,
Didn’t giggle at all.

Then Cecilia reached high
For the piece at the top,
And the tower went wobble,
Then tumble, then flop!

Down came the coral,
Down came the sand,
Down came the treasures
So carefully planned.

Cecilia burst into
A great flood of tears.
“I’ve lost all my treasure!
The work of my years!”

Then out of the current
There came a grand swirl,
A rustle of ruffles,
A twinkle, a twirl!

Great Grand Josephine
Swept in through the squall,
In a billowing gown
Made of pink for the ball.

Her lipstick was perfect,
Her pearls caught the light,
A grand old sea lady
All dressed up just right.

She looked at the rubble,
She looked at the tears,
Then laughed a laugh warmer
Than all of her years.

“My darling, my sweet one,
Now hush, let it be.
We’re not poor, we’re just broke!”
She winked. “Follow me.”

“You’ve worked like a queen,
Now come dance like one too!
This life’s not so serious,
Not for me, not for you.”

“You’ll stumble, my sweetheart.
You’ll tumble and fall.
But no one falls lonely
Who’s loved by us all.”

“So call up a party!
Let’s all dance in style!
Put on your best ribbons
And put on your smile!”

Cecilia looked down
At her crumbled pink heap,
And a giggle came bubbling
Up from the deep.

“It’s only some coral,
And coral can grow!
I’ll build it tomorrow,
But tonight, off we go!”

Then Dash, who’d been naughty,
Just wanting a friend,
Got the very first dance
And was good to the end.

Bobo puffed up
Like a big pink balloon,
And Delphine leapt so high
That she kissed the full moon.

And Stella the Starfish
Came cartwheeling in,
Five arms spinning circles
And one starry grin.

But grandest of all,
In the soft coral light,
Danced Great Grand Josephine
All through the night.

She had carried hard things
Through the storms of her days,
And had passed down the light
In a thousand bright ways.

For she’d learned through the years
What true riches could be:
A reef full of loved ones
Who dance in the sea.

When the party was over
And stars filled the bay,
They drifted to sleep
In the seagrass’s sway.

And the very next morning,
Just as she had planned,
She gathered pink coral
And gathered pink sand.

But she hummed while she gathered.
She paused in the sun.
And she stopped for a dance
When the hard work was done.

And you, my sweet seahorse,
So magic and bright,
Will work with your whole heart
And dance with delight.

But don’t grip so tightly
That joy slips away.
Pink is for gathering.
And pink is for play.

When you ding up your fenders
And things tumble down,
Just laugh like Great Grandma
In her grand pink gown.

Work hard and play hard,
Then rest and then mend.
And be gentle with you
As you would with a friend.

For pink is divine,
And pink is grand too,
But the truest pink magic
Is the laughter in you.

And one more thing for you grandparents. I hear you, and I hear the challenges you are facing as you try to influence, strengthen, and stabilize your children and grandchildren without pushing too hard or stepping where you shouldn’t. It is a tender balance, and it is exactly why, alongside The Wisdom of a Grandfather, I am creating a Grandparents’ Playbook written specifically for you, filled with practical ideas for how we can become a quiet and stabilizing influence in the lives of the generations coming behind us. More on that very soon.

Blessing the stability of your posterity and mine,

Rich Christiansen

How To Teach Your Grandchildren Values (Without Lecturing): Ep 13 | Calm the Chaos with Rich Christiansen

In this episode of Calm The Chaos, I share why a story passes down your family’s values better than a lecture ever will, talk honestly about grandparents who have been cut off by their adult kids, and read “Cecilia and the Grand Pink Ball” out loud. Watch Here.