Rose Petals

This morning after I parked my car on a quiet neighborhood block, I noticed an elderly woman walking down the street with a little girl. She was probably 3 years old and I gathered the woman she was walking alongside was her grandmother.

The girl stopped to adjust her shoes before getting up to catch up with the woman. Just before she reached her, a batch of roses in the front yard of a large house grabbed her attention. She stopped for a moment and stood there, mesmerized by the flowers. She reached out to touch the roses, to feel the texture of the petals in her little hand as the woman looked on. She stood their quietly watching her, not rushing the little girl, or showing the slightest sign of impatience.

I couldn’t help but think how new everything was to this child. Life had really just begun. And this woman was allowing her to take it all in. What a gift, I thought. What an extraordinary gift. 

I don’t know when I’ll have children of my own, but hope dearly that I follow her example; to never interrupt one's discovery of life early on, and then forever after.