It’s so funny how spending time with a child changes the way you look at things. I probably passed these things a thousand times without looking through them when K was a baby. Now that she’s old enough, she wants to look through them every time we pass them. What’s funny is now I look through them too, even when she isn’t with me.
I feel like being around her makes me appreciate the beauty around me more. I look up at the clouds and the leaves in the trees (I feel like I never used to look up!), I squat down to get a better view of flowers and bugs, I even started appreciating all the different types of transportation more. Before kids I would have spent my drives being annoyed with traffic and never would have thought, “Wow, today I saw 2 tankers, a fire truck, and a garbage truck! How cool is that?!”
It’s no wonder toddlers and babies sleep so much, noticing everything is like sensory overload! When I listen to K point out not only objects but the colors and shapes that make up those objects and the letters or numbers on them, I can’t believe the details I overlook in every day life. Don’t get me wrong, of course there is a time and place and it only makes sense that us adults overlook those things. Can you imagine trying to navigate your way to a new destination while also noticing every color and shape and letter around you? It would be impossible! (And also probably why it takes toddlers so long to get from Point A to Point B .)
But, when it’s safe and you have the time, there is really nothing better than looking at things through a toddler’s eyes. It’s truly magical.