Children Make People Smile

I have seen this happen too many times to not know it's coming now.  Children make people smile.  They're little and they're innocent and they're muddling their way through something mundane or maybe they're giggling with joy at something silly, whatever it is, little kids being little kids is endearing and people like to watch it in action.

For instance, of late when we go places I try to walk my daughter from the car to the location.  Sure, I could carry her; it would be more exercise for me and it would take about a fourth the time.  But she is learning and having her participate in the process and be aware of traffic and understand she needs to hold my hand are important things for a child to learn.

So here we are, she's walking in and looking all around.  I'm taking truncated adult steps as I walk beside her and I'm probably talking to her about where we're going or something interesting to see like the dog in the pickup truck to the left.  And that's when we meet the smiling people.

They're of all ages.  Some are quite old and moving at about our same pace.  Some are parents and some are just friendly people who think this whole half-paced procession is charming.  Some people talk directly to me.  They might say how cute she is or how they remembered when their children were that age.  Some people will engage my daughter directly saying something to her in a friendly.

The conversations are always brief because we're usually headed in different directions, but it's always a nice exchange.  I think I'll miss it when my children are too old to be that kind of cute.  I suspect I'll be one of those people who talks to random children as their parents walk them to their destination at that very special toddler half-pace.

The Big Boy Update:  "Happy.  I'm a happy boy."  This is a cute thing for him to say, and the first time he explained to us that he was happy, I thought it was just words he knew.  But no, if he's feeling happy, he will tell you so.  Today not only did he say he was happy, he declared that he was a happy boy. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  The terrible twos are coming.  I can sense it.  Actually, my ears can hear it.  She knows enough now to realize she's being told no about something but that the adult that told her no, could have said yes if they'd wanted to.  In short, she realizes she's being denied.  And she can get pretty angry and loud about it.

Fitness Update:  4.5 miles for a short Mother's Day run before daddy had to go to work.  Also, decided to do one hundred pushups for fun as well.  Wait, did I say, "for fun?"  I must be coming down with something.

Someone Once Said:  A present should show that you considered that person’s tastes. Something he would enjoy but probably would not buy.