At 1:40 yesterday afternoon, I laid Caedmon down for his nap. Atticus was already sleeping, and Derek was halfway there. So I decided to take advantage of this rare opportunity for some time alone and go for a walk. It had just started to snow, and I was looking forward to some solitude. Adelaide was downstairs coloring, and I knew that would keep her busy for at least half an hour.
As I was preparing to leave, however, I started to feel selfish for hoarding the afternoon to myself and not taking the chance to spend some one-on-one time with my daughter. I decided to ask her if she would like to accompany me on my jaunt. Obviously not fully ready to relinquish my freedom, however, I phrased my offer in the following fashion:
"Hey, Adelaide, I'm going for a walk. It's really cold outside, and kind of windy, and it's probably going to be a pretty long walk. Would you like to go with me?"
Her response was swift and enthusiastic: "I'd love to go with you!"
So instead of venturing out alone, enjoying a quiet afternoon and thinking deep thoughts about whether to fix chicken noodle soup or mexican lasagna for supper, I spent the next 45 minutes pushing Adelaide in the stroller through a beautiful snowfall. We discussed bald eagles and what they mean to the American people, the difference between Mexico and New Mexico, and a country versus the country.
I'm not sure what to think about the fact that my conversation with 4-year-old Adelaide was more intelligent than any inner thoughts I would have had alone.
Probably best not to delve too deeply into that particular quagmire.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Studies show that that people who leave comments are kind, intelligent, generous, creative, and have really nice hair.