A Moment of Love and Discovery

Yesterday I spent the day with my daughter and grandson. We went to the zoo in Indianapolis. Thank goodness she had a membership - we have an expensive zoo here. But, it was a sunny day, warm with a bit of a breeze that rustled the leaves. Truly, a gorgeous fall day. However, one significant thing that made it a great day was watching my grandson discover and explore. He loved the fishes. He fed the birds. His eyes widened when he saw the lions. And, he pressed his adorable and quite kissable little head to the elephant habitat barrier to get a good look at those amazing creatures (my personal favorite, I might add). I just love watching him make discoveries, and when you are one and half years old - everything is a discovery.

As I said, watching him was one significant reason yesterday was so great. The other was being a witness to the devoted and off-the-charts loving parents my daughter and son-in-law have become. They offer their curious son loads of experiences to expand his mind and provide lots of opportunity for discovery. They routinely take him to the park, Gymboree, Kindermusic, the library pre-school programs and The Children's Museum of Indianapolis (the biggest and best in the world - it's true - Google it). What I mean by routinely is that he goes to a handful of each of these toddler mind-expanding places weekly! My daughter is a respiratory therapist which gives her flexibility in the number of hours and shifts she works, so she chooses a few evening shifts a week. They often work it it out so my son-in-law can accompany them. They do so much as a unit. They are a lucky and loving family.

So one of the perks of being an Empty Nester is that you get to witness and even participate in your kids' lives like this. It is immensely satisfying - especially when things are good, and there are no worries.  (Which we know doesn't last, so let's try not to take those peaceful times for granted).

I hope you get to have days or moments of love and discovery like I did yesterday. With a new day comes the thought - What's next?