Rose-Colored Glasses
Have you ever been driving in your city or in your neighborhood and wondered what it might be like to drive through the streets as a first-time visitor? Wondered what it would be like to see your neighborhood or surroundings with a different set of eyes? Sometimes when I'm driving through town and the streets that I've been down countless times, I try to see everything as if I'm driving through for the first time--I just get so used to my surroundings, that I don't really see what's around.
Whenever I go on vacation, the first few days it's completely "foreign territory"--where is the closest grocery store, where is the Starbucks, where is the quaint little restaurant on the corner with the yummy pastries? But, after a few days, it starts to feel like home (or as much as a vacation will allow that) and I get accustomed to where I'm going.
Part of the joy of having an-almost-three-year-old in the house is seeing the world through her eyes. . .
As we were driving the other day, she yelled out from the back seat (has anyone else ever noticed that sometimes, toddlers have a hard time deciphering between indoor and outdoor voices?--or maybe it's just that the little things bring a wave of excitement that can't be contained):
"Look, Mommy, a crayon!"
This said as we passed through the downtown area, with tall buildings--one with a triangular-shaped-top very much in the shape of. . .you guessed it, a crayon.
Or, how about when we were driving and passed a river with a festival's name spray-painted on the grass:
"Mommy, the ABCs!"
Probably one of my recent favorites is just the sheer joy Carly gets from the simple things. She came home the other morning from a walk with my mom and ran into the house with this:
"Mommy, a flower! Can I have a vase for it?" (after taking this picture--I thought to myself--"wow--that actually does look kind of pretty--and here I dismissed it as not a real flower.")
And, I get the biggest kick out of her enjoyment of the littlest things. Yesterday, she ran through the sprinklers in our yard for hours. I remember doing this when I was younger, but I guess the appreciation for the simplicity of things wears off a bit as you get older.
Whenever I go on vacation, the first few days it's completely "foreign territory"--where is the closest grocery store, where is the Starbucks, where is the quaint little restaurant on the corner with the yummy pastries? But, after a few days, it starts to feel like home (or as much as a vacation will allow that) and I get accustomed to where I'm going.
Part of the joy of having an-almost-three-year-old in the house is seeing the world through her eyes. . .
As we were driving the other day, she yelled out from the back seat (has anyone else ever noticed that sometimes, toddlers have a hard time deciphering between indoor and outdoor voices?--or maybe it's just that the little things bring a wave of excitement that can't be contained):
"Look, Mommy, a crayon!"
This said as we passed through the downtown area, with tall buildings--one with a triangular-shaped-top very much in the shape of. . .you guessed it, a crayon.
Or, how about when we were driving and passed a river with a festival's name spray-painted on the grass:
"Mommy, the ABCs!"
Probably one of my recent favorites is just the sheer joy Carly gets from the simple things. She came home the other morning from a walk with my mom and ran into the house with this:
"Mommy, a flower! Can I have a vase for it?" (after taking this picture--I thought to myself--"wow--that actually does look kind of pretty--and here I dismissed it as not a real flower.")And, I get the biggest kick out of her enjoyment of the littlest things. Yesterday, she ran through the sprinklers in our yard for hours. I remember doing this when I was younger, but I guess the appreciation for the simplicity of things wears off a bit as you get older.
Post-sprinkler-hopping, Carly helped J wash the van. And, here again, the effort and concentration that went into her sudsing and sponging were adorable. I aspire to be like that--not just rushing through the everyday tasks, but embracing them with gusto.
Bottom-line--I love how Carly calls it like she sees it and grabs hold of every new discovery with joy--there's just something refreshing about that kind of simplicity and appreciation. And there's something refreshing about learning important life lessons from an almost three-year-old.
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