Wonder Fool

​I am a fool for wonder and for whimsy.  Such a combination makes my class of people preschoolers.

Weary from news of war and winter winds, I am hungry for my people. I stop at a small park and sit down on a bench.  It feels good to be out in the cool, fresh air taking in the sunshine and the sounds of happy children.

I soon spot a preschooler wearing a knit cap and matching puffy jacket.  He looks like a small, silvery cloud with knees.  I study him from afar as he studies the world up close.  This tiny scientist trains his eyes on the spot where a bug disappeared into the loose black soil.  He crouches down so low that his long dark eyelashes nearly brush the ground.  He holds this posture like a statue.  My own knees begin to ache.  I wonder if the child is breathing. “Where did it go?” Before his mother can answer, the boy spots a bright red cardinal on a stone ledge and chases the bird until it fades into the sky.  “Does that bird live in heaven?”  And it is on to the next thing. The child starts down a gentle slope toward the slide and swings.  Letting the momentum carry him, he falls to the ground and rolls.  He squeals with delight further encouraging the invisible force.  “The grass is tickling me!”  And I laugh as the shared momentum carries me into the moment and tickles me too.

Next, the boy busies himself gathering small stones and lining them up on a bench.  He talks to himself and to the stones.  He gives each one a name.  The budding geologist keeps at it until he hears the honk of a goose that has waddled out of a large puddle.  The child honks back, and asks his mother, “What did the goose say to me?”  He imitates the goosey waddle until he loses sight of the bird in the bright sunshine. I hear him ask, “Why does the sun hurt my eyes?”

The child goes from awed silence to incessant chatter, stillness to fast forward, whatever the wonder calls for, his body responds and his eager mind forms a question.  He does not fear looking foolish, getting dirty, or running late.  Those are the concerns of adults on a schedule who have stricken time to wonder from their personal to-do lists. 

The boy does not pause to anticipate the dangers—the sting of a bee or the brush of poison ivy against his skin.  His mother is there.  With her eyes ten steps ahead, her body is one step behind.  Like the captain of an ancient seafaring vessel headed for a new world, she is constantly scanning the horizon for dragons and the air waves for the siren’s call.  A good parent, she lovingly presses on making the world safe for her child’s wonder.

The tot continues to explore and to marvel until both he and his mother are tired.  He reaches up for her, and she lifts him into her arms.  They go to their car.  I give up my front row seat to all of this wonder and go to my car too.  I am not tired.  I am refreshed. It has been wonderful!