Oh, Those Clever Birds!

Two days ago, baby girl told me "I am very busy today, Mama, so I don't have time to________"  insert undesirable task here. Phew, she had quite a day-meetings, phone calls, deadlines! Anyway, I realize she was trying to avoid doing things that she did not want to do, but the sound of my own words coming back to me left me a little rattled. Then, yesterday morning, rushing through the grocery store parking lot before school, I had the following conversation with baby girl.

Baby Girl: "Look in the trees, Mama."
Me: "uh-huh." (Okay, I admit, I didn't look.)
Baby Girl: "Mama, birds eat berries from trees, right?"
Me: "Yes, darlin', now hurry up, we're going to be late."
Baby Girl: "Where do they get their drinks from?"
Me: "Ummm, rain water, I guess." I said as I was navigating oblivious drivers and wayward shopping carts.
Baby Girl: "Oh. That's very clever of them."

I mentally applauded her use of the word clever and her appreciation for ornithological survival skills. But after I rushed in and out of the store, dropped baby girl off at school and was sitting in the quiet of my car, it occurred to me, we need to slow down. It's not that life is passing us by, but we are passing life by. Not only do I need to stop and smell the roses, but, I need to stop so baby girl can smell the roses. I need to pause so she can splash in puddles, watch the clouds, and listen to the birds! I know what roses smell like, but if I'm not careful, baby girl never will.