Before I became a mom, I remember hearing people say that one of the best things about parenting is the joy of discovering the world again through the eyes of a child.  In the past 2 and a half (almost 3, where does the time go!) years that C has been around, I’ve certainly found that to be true.  For instance, I never really gave bulldozers a second thought.  But C is crazy about them (as well as excavators, steam rollers, and the like, whenever the chance arises, he will visit the skid steer rental in Vancouver ).  And much to his delight a whole brigade of heavy machinery has moved in on our street just a quarter mile from our house.  For the past couple of weeks, we’ve taken a wagon ride almost every morning to see the what the excavator is doing at the end of our road.  We’ll sit together for almost an hour at a time, watching in awe as this giant metal dinosaur “eats trees” (as Cragbaby so eloquently likes to phrase it).  But Cragbaby is not the only one fascinated by the excavator – I’ve discovered that I too find excavator-gazing rather exciting.  And although a large part of why I enjoy it so much is because I’m sharing the experience with C, it’s an activity I never would have considered until he came around.  He taught me to see a bulldozer through his eyes.  

I think this picture captures another perfect example of that “through a toddler’s eyes” concept.  I’ve always been a nature lover – unlike with the excavator, I probably would have stopped to observe a bumblebee resting on a delicate yellow flower.  But I certainly wouldn’t have lingered as long, and I never would have noticed all the intricacies.  I wouldn’t have touched and counted each petal, nor would I have stared unblinkingly at the bumblebee for 5 minutes straight.  

Just the other day C and I were putting the last few bulbs into our garden, when an epic gust of wind came out of nowhere and rained down a flurry of leaves from the trees above us.  C looked up and said, smiling, “That was AMAZING, Mommy!”  Indeed it was – but had I not been looking through his eyes, the moment would have gone by unnoticed by me.  And more recently, we went to a live Nativity at a local church – “Angels, Mommy, just like in my book!”, he said excitedly, with pure joy.  Oh, that we could all experience the joy of Christmas so freely!

Who else has had the joy of seeing the world through the eyes of an awe-filled little person?  What special moments have you “re-experienced” with your child?