I was sitting on our balcony the other day with the kiddo on my lap and I noticed something intriguing enough to write about. People watching from up there in our little family’s tree house has become one of my absolute favorite things to do. It seems to get my creative juices flowing and it keeps me thinking outside the box.

On this particular balmy evening there was a young girl. She was probably about 13 years old or so, and she was walking down the street of our parking lot. She stopped at one point to look down at a small stream of water, which seemed to be the result of our apartment building’s sprinkler system over-shooting the grass line. She slipped her right foot out of her flip-flop and placed her pointed toes gently into the shallow stream of water, swinging her leg from side to side, allowing her toes to graze the surface. After lingering for a moment, she returned her foot to her flip-flop and carried on her merry way, only to halt again soon after at a low-hanging tree branch. She reached up, placing her hand delicately around it’s leaves so that she might examine them for a moment. She then glanced up to wave at a friend across the lot before continuing along, slowly though…. …as if to absorb up all of the magic surrounding her.

I found what she was doing both peculiar and familiar at the same time. So of course, it  sparked up my desire to write about it. Most people on most days, especially at my age, don’t take the time to notice the magic around them anymore. Even if we see it, we only pay it a fleeting, momentary thought and then it’s back to our busy lives. That age-old advice which suggests we all “Stop and Smell the Roses” has always been one of my absolute favorites.

I was once that girl. I don’t feel as though I’ve lost that magic completely, if that were the case I probably wouldn’t have payed said “lover of puddles”  any attention at all. Maybe MY “little girl”, the magic-absorbing sponge that she is, is just hiding…….buried beneath so many layers of responsibility and what I might describe as chaos. But is any of it REALLY that chaotic? Or does my over-thinking simply make it seem that way?

I long to find that part of me again. To skip along the sidewalk with my dog’s leash in hand humming or something silly to that effect, without that ever-present feeling that everyone must be watching me and disapproving of my childish behavior for one reason or another. I used to do those things too……back when a stroll to a friend’s house took twice as long as it should because I just had to stop and fiddle with flowers or pick up a frog. Heck, back then I’d even name the slimy thing before placing it gently into the grass so it could hop on back to it’s little frog babies. Now, there’s this creativity strangling fear that comes with every reckless or silly thing I wish to do…..and that’s if I even honor said wishes with a second thought within my self-diagnosed O.C.D. driven lifestyle.

Be honest, how many of you thought of warts when I said frog?

All I’m saying is I miss that little girl, and I intend on finding her again. I encourage you to do the same. As cliche as this sounds, life is simply too short not to.

May we all take random pictures of things that are beautiful despite their lack of sense.

May we all close our eyes and focus on the sounds of nature masked by the flowing highway noises that seem to paint the backdrop of our lives.

May we scoop up bits of floating fuzz and dandelion seeds, believing they’re fairies as we whisper our wishes to them, only to set them free to float away into the wild-blue-yonder.

And of course, may we take the time as this little girl I once knew did, to find that priceless magic in our puddles once again.

Thank you.