paying attention

Usually when I walk across campus I am so focused on what I'm doing next or the meeting I just came from that I don't pay much attention. One of my nieces who is on campus practically had to physically bump me to get my attention recently!

But yesterday, the weather was SO nice and the air so full of the promise of spring that I slowed down a little. I decided I didn't need to walk as fast as I usually do (idea for another posting: different ways people walk--I've been noticing!) and just soak in the good feeling.

As I walked, I noticed lots of twigs on the ground, probably broken during the winter storms and buried under snow until now when they are uncovered by spring on the not-quite-spring grass. The picture probably is difficult, but I took one anyway.

The sticks made me think of walking with my grandchildren. When I walk with them, we look at the things on the ground. A lot! They notice and want to explore. Their goal isn't to get somewhere. Their goal is the experience and all they can pack into it. If' I'd been with Gabe right at that moment, I know we would have picked up the sticks. They would have become digging tools or tapping tools or canes (yes, we'd have to bend over to use them) or even swords (I hate sword fights with such short "swords"!). We would have had a whole world of play in these two sticks. And the point wouldn't have been to hurry past them and get to the next meeting/office/task/appointment. Some days I need to remember that.