The puddle

I hope you haven't given up on me updating my blog. What with the larngytis, the holiday, the SPRING FEVER!! - I haven't been hard at it for quite sometime.

Happily, my cousin Peter sent me this picture of his son Ethan discovering a puddle which got me to thinking.

What would it be like to walk through a puddle for the first time? Not notice it coming up and then just hear the rhythm of your walk change from a tap tap tap to splish, splash . . . Look down, notice you are in water. See it, consider it, feel it. What an adventure of the senses. Peter was so lucky to see this happen right before his eyes, his son discovered something new - it has sound, it has feeling, it is shiney, if he stomps it moves. Peter also gave Ethan the gift of that discovery. By letting him walk through the puddle, millions - maybe billions of sensory connections were made, thought patterns, optical pathways, auditory stimulation, and now Ethan's experience of the world is ever altered.

Embrace what a difference you make for your children by taking those walks that last a long long time and cover very little ground. Remember, every stone, pinecone, ant, bird, leaf and puddle holds a world of discovery. Don't miss it, the shoes will dry and the pants can be cleaned, the work of the child is to experience something new daily, to learn and grow.