Emily and I have had the opportunity to spend time this weekend with Andrew, Kristi and the always entertaining Ethan. Watching the little tike this weekend has made me think of the good old days.
We were at the ever popular Pepperidge Farms outlet and as we were leaving there was a big puddle in the parking lot, all of us adults seemingly bypassed it without a second glance. Ethan on the other hand made a beeline straight for it just as Kristi did her ahhahah he pulled back and continued on.
Later we were fishing and the kid was all over the place, throwing rocks in the water gradually getting larger and larger until he was told to tone it down, he then would find a stick and start splashing and the splashes would get larger and larger until he was asked to tone it down, he then would run around and get closer and closer to the water until finally falling in and getting his pants wet.
Later we were watching Finding Nemo at our house it was on one of the local stations and every time a commercial would come on he would freak out and say I want to watch Nemo. And every time we would have to explain commercials (tivo has ruined the kid!!!)
All of this made me think back to when I was a kid and I was the kid running around splashing in puddles. I remember when I was in grade school and it was winter and everything was covered in ice. All of the kids were outside sliding on the ice. I wasn't talented enough to slide on my feet so I went on my butt. I guess it's a bad idea to slide on your but when wearing corduroy pants. I tore them to pieces. I remember it being so exhilarating until I realized what I had done to my pants.
It also maybe me think of Saturday morning cartoons wrapped up in my Grandma Henderson quilt still in my whity tighties with a big bowl of marshmallow maties watching tiny toons, teenage mutant ninja turtles and the all time classic looney tunes. Not the Saturday morning crap they have now.
My point is we get to caught up in our everyday lives to "do work" on a puddle that needs someone to jump in it. We don't stop to see how big of a splash we can make with rocks, sticks and sometimes our pants. I think we could make our lives easier by stopping and watching a line of ants march back to their home, playing a game of eye spy next time we are waiting for a bus or in a room sitting with 20 people in awkward silence or maybe even stopping to pick up a seeding dandelion and blowing on it until they are all gone. ( I call it job security)