A Walk...

This morning, I woke up contentedly around 7 to an eager and thirsty 14 month old. Nursing our son, I felt at peace and complete. He had went to sleep earlier than usual last night, so I couldn't wait to be able to see his beautiful hazel eyes and his 6 teeth smile. His dad cuddled with him for awhile after that. They have been bonding more lately. Even at night, he is able to comfort our son successfully. When he went to work, we had breakfast. I had cereal and a bagel. He had an organic egg and oatmeal, peach and banana puree. We enjoyed each other's company and the food. We got dressed, brushed our teeth, and put on our shoes. When we were ready to go to work, the keys were missing. I had left them in daddy's car. I dumped the diaper bag just in case. They weren't there. So, with 7 minutes until 9, the time when we should be at work, I strapped him in the three-wheeled stroler and headed off south. I felt confident and surprised about this unexpected event. We needed some fresh air and some Vitamin D from the sun. We needed to immerse ourselves in nature. He loves to walk outside. We saw dogs, birds, and cars. He expressed his awe and concern for each one. When we stopped at the light, he followed each car from the left to the right, left to right. He was soaking up the world outside of our little apartment. As we continued to walk, I began to notice glass, beer cans, coke bottles, metal rings, etc.. I never noticed the litter before. I wondered how many times are our lives going by too quickly for us not to notice the little very important things on our journey. How many times have we missed our children laugh, smile, cry? How many times have we hurt someone in the process of getting a goal accomplished and not noticed? We just need to slow down and really pay attention. I needed to slow down. After the litter, I noticed a dogwood tree hiding in the woods. I hadn't realized that there was a dogwood near the place where I work. When you slow down, sometimes inspiration is waiting just around the corner. Dogwoods remind me of the woods where I grew up as a child. I wonder what our son will remember about his childhood? His hand is now on my arm wanting to take me on another path. Have a good day!