Children can see into the depths

Luky;

When my children were still growing up, I always used to enjoy my 5 km daily walk after work. I still enjoy my daily walk. Some days I  am full of appreciation for the beauty around me, as my walk takes me through a lovely park and then past some beautiful gardens.

It is amazing how one unwinds on these walks. Anything that has been bothering me gets sorted into its right place, decisions are taken, and when problems appear to have no solution, they are filed under miscellaneous and put into God's hands. When I come home afterwards I always feel revived.

Sad
One day I was walking along feeling as though I had the world on my shoulders. My eldest son had stopped a squash ball in his eye. It is at times like those that I feel so far away from my children, and I was wishing as I so often do that the umbilical cord between them and me had never been severed, though I know that this is nonsense. Still, your mind can reason but your heart cannot reason, and so I was feeling pretty sad.

Outward bound
Turnng the corner of a sparsely built up residential area, I saw a little girl skipping towards me. She had obviously come from one of the houses and appeared to be on a voyage of discovery. I felt in no mood to make little girls cry, but I clearly had to stop her. 'Where's mommy?' I asked. She couldn't talk very well yet, but vaguely pointed her little forefinger into the direction of the houses.

'Which is daddy's car, the red one or the white one?' I asked. She clearly didn't know her colours yet. I stooped and picked her up. 'Let's go and look for mommy,' I suggested. To my surprise she snuggled into my shoulder, like one of my own.

Full speed
I was still wondering which house the little girl had come from when her mother charged outside. 'You're not going to believe this but I only turned my back for one minute', she panted. Any other time I'd have tried to steal a little kiss from the little girl before putting her down, but as I've said I was feeling very sad, so I simply said: 'Down you go.'

To my surprise she put two small arms tightly around my neck and kissed me smack on the lips. She had been eating toffees. 'Are you coming to my house?' she asked. 'Perhaps tomorrow,' I hedged. I simply hadn't the energy to have a discussion. 'Tomorrow,' she agreed, and waved me goodbye. Her mother and I smiled at one another and I continued on my walk.

Unseen seen
Then I heard the little girl make a remark to her mother which almost stopped me dead in my tracks. 'That lady was crying, Mommy, did you see that?' No doubt her mother hadn't seen it because I wasn't crying, but suddenly I realised why I had received that sticky kiss and that loving hug. How strange that a small child can be so perceptive while we adults go through life, often taking everything at face value.