The Walk

There's so much I still need to learn! This morning, like every other morning, Kenzie, Tyler and I walked Grant to school. Kenzie was VERY slow this morning. I felt like I had to drag her along. It's a good thing we leave the house by 7:45 to get Grant to school by 8:00. He's never been late because we only live around the corner from the school and it takes us about 6 minutes to get from our door to Grant's classroom. Today I learned a very important lesson. Slow down and take time to notice life. A woman whom I see most mornings was behind us on our way home. I kept turning around to tell Kenzie to keep walking and hurry up. It seemed she would stop every 5 steps...I was unsure why, still am. But this woman said something that I've known but just needed to hear again. She said, "Isn't it great how simple life is for them? Here we are in such a hurry to get to the next thing and we rush through life. Before you know it you'll be taking her to school and then too soon after that you'll be taking him (Tyler) to school." I've known that but for some reason I don't follow it often enough because I am in a hurry to get to the next thing. The rest of our walk took about 10 minutes but it was great! I thought of the people I see every morning. A mother with quite a few young children. I haven't been able to keep track of how many kids she has because it seems to be different everyday. Some mornings there is a little girl in the stroller holding a smaller little boy while the school age daughter walks, or most of the time runs, along side her mom. This morning there was an older boy walking with the older daughter and younger daughter while two little boys were in the stroller. Also every morning I see a happy older gentleman riding a bike way too small for him while his granddaughter sits on the front of the bike getting a free ride to school. He always greets us with a warm smile and a hello. Another woman walks her three young kids to school then walks to the bus stop. I assume she's going to work... Stopping to slow down this morning made me think about these "regulars" I see each morning. It also allowed Kenzie and I to share a moment and listen and notice the things around us. It was a little overcast this morning. A little cool with some moisture in the air. A beautiful morning. We heard whistles over at the school as well as the bell ringing. Then we looked in the sky and saw a little bird flying and singing along the way. Kenzie watched as it flew to a tree. She told me the birdy went home to her mommy. We heard dogs bark and the cars that drove by. Then she heard the church bell chime in the distance. It was such a great morning. I hope I remember this and make sure to slow down more often. I don't want to miss out on these great moments. The simple things in life are the best.