Through a Child’s Eyes

Sometimes in all the hustle and bustle of life, we forget to take the time to see the world through the eyes of the children we care for. I think I am better at it than many, but even I get caught in the “gotta-do-it-nows” that keep us from experiencing all the delight that that the world has to offer.

This past week I’ve been watching the grand kiddles again after our month in Maui. I only have them for a few hours a day, so I’ve made a point of getting as much “errand-running” done before I pick them up as I can so I can have the time spent with them to “spend on them,” not just having them with me.

We have watched turkeys walk through the neighborhood, let lady bugs tickle our bare arms,

collected wonderful sparkly (or as Bea still says “farkly”) rocks, picked the flowers off weeds to tuck behind our ears, fed the ducks at the pond,

Watched the geese paddling around,

brought “burrs” home and made pictures with them by sticking them  on the back of the couch,

played Old Maid and Uno until our brains melted (and our tummies ached from laughing!) listened to the birds chirping and the wind rustling though the trees, watched the mockingbirds and scrub jay fight over the remaining pyrocantha berries,

tried to make a heart out of petals that had fallen from a tree only to have the wind blow them away…it’s been fun, and rewarding, and has contributed enormously to my sense of well-being.

Experiencing the world through the eyes of children is not “creating” in the traditional sense of the word, but it’s creating happiness in my life. And that’s every bit as important as the kind of happiness you get from putting paint on a canvas!