The other day, we were hurrying along the sidewalk to school when suddenly Alden stopped and crouched down. She had seen what we had not. The crocuses were out.
Without prompting, she did what every parent hopes his child will do: slow down for a moment to appreciate the tiny, beautiful things in life. In stopping to smell the proverbial flowers, she caught a good whiff of some actual ones.
Her companion for the day (each child is allowed to bring one “friend” per day, for the purpose of naptime snuggling), Lamby (who is not, incidentally a lamb) got in on the action as well.
It seems he (she?), even lacking brains or emotion, has a better sense of the world than do I, who, all too full of the urgent imperatives of adulthood, would have walked right past those beautiful flowers without taking note.
So thank you, Alden. You too, Lamby.