Here’s another little nugget from Super Baby.
The kid & I spend a lot of time together since the others are at school most of the day. Therefore, he tolerates (and sometimes participates in) my mundane tasks. Last week the job at hand, printing invitations for a school event.
In and out of my little office area he came and went. While I was checking out the font which seemed incredibly blurry (okay, so it wasn’t the font … it was my eyes!), he noticed for the first time, paper coming out of the printer. The light blinked and paper magically appeared. Wow. Who knew a day could be so exciting. Squealing and even a little jig accompanied his happy discovery. Then he had to see it up close.
As I watched him mesmerized by the printer’s sounds and blinking lights as they introduced the paper that imminently followed, I was struck by how often I fly through life with my older kids without even a thought of slowing down to recognize what’s new and fascinating to them.
Some of the new stuff is so hard – hampered by hormones, moods, attitudes … just like it is with the little guy. But in the same way he is jazzed by a printer, the kids are amazed as their eyes are opened to new discoveries. They may not have the abandon to relish in them as Super Baby jigging over paper (there’s often a reputation to protect), but inside they just might be doing a dance.
For me … I hope that I am not only slowing down enough to recognize it, but also giving them a safe and encouraging environment to explore it … just like Super Baby with his little mirror. Take a look by clicking the play button (sorry it begins with a black screen… I’m new at this stuff):
Thanks for ignoring my cluttered office area … and walking the road with me.
-Kay
