It's a Monday morning and I'm watching my 16 month old baby toddle around the house. He just started walking about three weeks ago, and you can tell from the joy on his face that he likes this new method of transportation.
His hazel eyes are wide in excitement, his pouty mouth open and smiling.
I opened the front door five minutes ago to put out the trash and he caught a glimpse of outside.
His eyes went wide and that mouth opened in a smile as he toddled his way towards the front door, taking those baby steps.
New.
That expression, this joy, has been appearing when he sees or experiences something new, which has been alot lately.
He sits forward facing now in the car, since our California trip of a few weeks ago, and I can't count how many times I looked back and found him staring out of the window, eyes wide. We went through 4 states and as majestic as the landscape was (there were moments of pause by The Husband and I), the four older people in the family didn't really see it. The Daddy was mostly focused on driving and I was trying to get some reading in and the two older brothers were busy chatting and bickering so we four missed huge parts of the landscape entirely.
But to the 16 month old it was all wonderful and New. And he took it all in.
Caught up in the dailyness of life, I forget the New. I forget to look at the world around me and marvel in the things that make it up - the trees, huge buses, mountains, huge passenger trains.
Lately, only the ocean and majestic mountain views make me stop. But there's so much more in life...
...the little ant crawling into his hole, catching baseballs in the front yard, digging in mud in the backyard...
These things above are actually New to the 6 year old and 4 year old as well.
Which makes me realize how much I need to find the New in this Dailyness of Life that causes my face to frown often, whether in concentration or frustration or worry.
I need the wide eyes of excitement and mouth open in big smile.
It seems like a good place to be.
