WE WERE NEARING THE END of an active morning on the playground. It was chilly by southern standards. Even though the sun was fully out, the breeze had been steadily blowing, making it feel much colder. For about an hour and a half, my two-year-old grandson had made the circuit from one play station to the next. He ran, laughed, climbed, and finally laid down motionless in the sun for a moment, apparently out of energy.
I thought he was fully spent.
I knew I was!
So, it seemed like a good moment to say, “Let’s go home and have some lunch!”
He jumped up and quickly ran toward an open spot, stopped in a trice, reached down, and picked up a leaf—pretending he was going to eat it. But, the wind gusted at that moment, and I suggested he throw the leaf into the air and watch it fly. What I actually said was, “Let the wind blow it.” He heard, “Blow it,” And being a toddler, he immediately blew it out of his hand and then tried, without success, to blow it along the ground. It was fun to watch. So I picked up that leaf and tossed it into the breeze. He shrieked as the leaf sailed away briskly over his head. And a new game had begun. The fun stopped when the leaf blew over the fence.
But, no worries, just grab another leaf.
All that expensive playground equipment, but the day's most exciting and focused experience was a leaf blowing in the wind. And—sharing it with Poppa and Marmy.
When the day was over, and I finally had an alone moment away from traffic—out of the cold, safe inside my warm, quiet place—I smiled as I replayed the day's events.
I wondered if my grandson would remember times like this. Would I be around long enough to make many more memories with ALL my grands?
Time moves so quickly.
Ah, even more, would he one day have the opportunity as a grandfather to see the joy in the eyes of his grandson over a moment so simple? And remember his first moment of wonder about the wind. As for me, I was grateful for it all. The leaf thing was such a random surprise for us both.
I wondered if I were ever that way as a boy.
Hmmm, my memory is spotty at best!
I reached for the clock when I awoke this morning. 5:21! Ugh. I was startled by a curious dream that had just ended, and my mind was racing. I was walking home from elementary school along Mimosa Boulevard, headed for a brief stop at the family service station across from Hawkins Feed and Seed. The wind was cool, and I raised the collar of my coat to warm my neck. Scattered on the lawns and in the gutter between the road and the sidewalk, there were many colorful leaves. It must have been Autumn.
I don’t see them much anymore, but in those days, whirlwinds were common.
On that day, a chilly wind was blowing; the warm sun beamed in a cloudless indigo sky. As I walked along, tiny whirlwinds lifted the leaves around and around here and there. I remember watching the show and wished a friend had been there to enjoy the moments with me. I tried to interrupt the wind by stepping in the middle of one of those baby tornadoes.
I was fascinated by the wind whirling the leaves.
That was at least 60 years ago!
I remembered that day and those thoughts in my dream as though it happened yesterday.
As I write these memories for the years to come, I think about what my Father already knew about that day, that one day, all these years later, I would be filled with curiosity—as memories whirl around and around inside my soul.
©️ Copyright 2022 . Gary Landerfelt . MyPericope.com
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