wonder in waiting
June 26, 2014 § 2 Comments
So much life occurs in empty moments of waiting. We fill the time between beginnings with choices that provide distractions and illuminate self. I watched my children navigating the airport yesterday and marveled at the differences between each child and the memories trapped in the congested busyness of familiar spaces.
My son turned inward from the noise and movement of our surroundings. He cocooned into stillness, preserving his solitude. His sister moved into his shadow, challenging his stagnancy. Nose and forehead pressed against the glass she watched the progress of the workers on the ground. Her stillness seemed to radiate movement, waves of curiosity and attentiveness merging with the current of strangers that milled around.
At first I worried that my son had hardened against the experience of traveling. My memory of his toddler form peeking on tiptoe through the same glass, enthusiastic tones of awe for the caravan of luggage that would caterpillar between metal birds was in sharp contrast to the curve of his torso as he bent into his reading. There was silence where once he created introductions and discovered friendship in the face of other children, sorting his surroundings and filling the empty chairs around him with questions.
It wasn’t until we settled ourselves into seats aboard our plane that I realized my son had not lost his eagerness to peer through the window or chase friendships; he merely gave up a place near the window to sit on the perimeter of old experiences. He still engages his neighbor across the aisle and creates his own distractions, but he has matured into an experience of expected restraint. It isn’t that his sister’s enthusiasm exaggerates his acquiescence, but rather mirrors the gift of his experience.
My daughter learned to look through the window by looking first to her brother. The evolution of each child’s experiences making me more conscious of how I assign placement within expectations and the importance of creating windows.
scribblechic 
The importance of creating windows…oh, yes. So happy to have some time to get back to your blog and immerse myself in your writing. It’s such a treat.
Thank you, Lara. It is a treat for me to find your voice among my musings.