Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Stop and Watch the Bugs by Magdalena Scott

Margaret Daley’s post on Monday immediately made me think of an experience from my son’s childhood, and I wanted to share it with you.

The house where my husband, son, and I lived was one block from our local post office, and two blocks from the town square. I was fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom up until The Progeny went to Kindergarten, so in any weather short of hail or heavy rain or sleet, he and I might well go for a walk.

At first of course, there was the stroller, then walking along holding hands, and eventually the tricycle, which soon became the tricycle with a wagon bungee-corded to the back for “hauling stuff.” In our small town, many people knew The Progeny by name, and our walks often included plenty of stops to visit for a moment with friends or acquaintances. A walk of a few blocks could take the whole afternoon.

The time I especially remember was a trip to the post office. We were holding hands, and The Progeny was maybe three years old. As soon as we landed on the sidewalk from our front porch, I could see this would be anything but a quick trip. OHMYGOODNESS, we had to stop at every crack in the sidewalk, and many places without cracks, to inspect all of the bugs. (It was an especially busy bug day for some reason.) We couldn't just quickly glance at them, either. We had to stop dead in our tracks, crouch down, and inspect exactly what types of bugs were there, and what they were doing. I wondered if we’d get to the post office before the window closed!

I have no idea why we needed to go to the P.O. that day. I just remember realizing I was in the middle of a parable: Enjoy the journey and don't be entirely focused on the destination. I've thought of that many times in the last 20+ years. Sometimes it shows more than others, but I think I actually did learn the lesson. I'm grateful for it.

What important things have you learned from a child? 

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Magdalena Scott is one of the authors of the best-selling Ladies of Legend, Tennessee series. Catch up with her goings-on at her blog, Welcome toMagdalenaville. She’s also on Twitter and Facebook.

14 comments:

  1. Oh, Magdalena, You brought me back such memories of my own progeny. My daughter used to pick up worms from puddles and talk to them. SUCH FUN!

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    1. That's so cute, Lyn, Did she ask the worms why they crawled into the puddles? That has always been a burning question for me.

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  2. I learn things from my kids all the time. They are both now in their 20s but my son especially is such a mine of interesting information. He has a way of looking at the world, a really off the wall, outside the box way of perceiving things. He offers some fascinating insights and opinions that really make me think.

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    1. That's great, Helen! It's good to hear from "outside the box" sometimes, and a nice turnaround when the parent learns from the child.

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  3. I loved this post!! It brought back so many memories. We live in the country, and the walk along our gravel road to the bus stop every morning yielded so many adventures. Bugs...crawlies going across the road...deer and raccoon tracks....acorns, with their little hats...

    Thank you so much for the wonderful reminder!

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    1. Thanks, Roxanne. Your gravel road sound like daily treasure hunt!

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  4. With my youngest son, it wasn't so much living things as it was rocks. He was obsessed -- and at 32 still has a large collection. One day when he was three, we were visiting friends who lived outside of town in the Sonoran Desert. Rock heaven! When I missed Alex and went to look for him, I found that he'd filled his pockets with so many rocks he could only walk by holding his pants up with both hands and slinging one leg ahead of the other like Frankenstein's monster. He had to show me the stellar qualities of each rock. Such a funny kid.

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  5. Patricia--what a great word picture of your three-year-old! Thank you for sharing the story.

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  6. Wonderful post, Magdalena. I'm putting my preschool teacher hat on for my response. As fascinating it is for children to inspect bugs and their behavior, I give kudos to you for letting him lead the way and you following. What a wonderful parental example!

    Now, for the lesson learned, I'm taking my preschool teacher hat off, and am thankful for your message. I too often look to the destination (more often than not, the destination is ticking things off the to-do list). I'm heeding your message the rest of the day and living in the moment. :)

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  7. Hi, Maddie! Thank you for the kind words--and I hope you've enjoyed your afternoon/evening of living in the moment. :)

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  8. What a wonderful post, Magdalena. Thank you for reminding us to enjoy the journey.
    I learned from my kids to let go of things and not worry about losing materialistic things. "It's broken? So what? Be grateful you used for so many years!"

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    1. I so agree, Mona. I never worry about things. As long as the people are ok, things don't matter. They can always be replaced.

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    2. Yes! That is a terrific lesson, Mona and Helen. It's one that my head understands better than my heart, but I'm getting there...

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  9. My memories of kids are building at the moment, but I love that my 7 year old is my hero for chasing the flies with the swatter. And the 5 year old will squash the spiders!

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