Has spring really and truly sprung or should we brace ourselves for an unavoidable relapse? I guess we shouldn’t count our spring chickens before they are hatched, although it is oh-so-tempting. The birds are chirping, the sun is rising earlier and setting later, and I see buds out there a-forming. How many other vital clues do we need? Bring it on, Mother Nature! Spring us from winter, quite literally!
With this unseasonably balmy weather, Sam Macky and I have been venturing outside quite a bit. His newest pastime/obsession is Spring Hydrant Hunting. What in the world is that, you ask? Well, it entails going to see the three fire hydrants in the neighborhood over and over and over again. His Radio Flyer wagon is the fire truck, the red resistance band from our Stroller Strides days is the hose, and he tops it all off by wearing his somewhat mangled yellow fire hat. Sam Macky to the rescue! It is hilariously cute. He pretends to attach the “hose” from the “fire truck” to the hydrant. And then we move on to the next hydrant, and so on, and so on, and so on. I must say though it is a whole lot cuter at the beginning of the adventure than after the fourth visit to the same hydrant.
The best part of it all is the endearing smiles we get from people zooming by our dramatic fire rescue scene. Trust me, people do not look at me beatifically when I am by myself, cute red wagon or not. (Don’t worry — I don’t walk around pulling the wagon when Sam is not around. However, no one gave me any serene or loving smiles at Target when I was there buying the wagon.) That’s just the way it is –we adults just cannot compete with the cuteness factor of little tykes. Why is it that things in miniature are always cuter than the actual life-sized object?
Toddler-hood is such an incredible time in life — innocent exploration and limitless zeal with no self-consciousness or peer pressure. It’s a shame we can’t remember it when we get older. When else do you see people finding such joy from a used workout band, a cracked plastic hat, and a little red wagon? It would take some heavy jewelry or a 5 series BMW for most of us these days. Even then, though, would we spontaneously jump up and down on the tips of our toes? Would we really jump around like a Mexican jumping bean? Well, you never know — I guess the only way to really find out is by getting the jewelry or car and seeing what happens. Time to buy a lottery ticket…
LibbY