Children explore the world around them with such innocence and wonder. I am reminded of this daily by the fact that Balthazar brings every little minor detail to my attention. Most of the time it’s a plea for me to notice this most magnificent discovery of his. As parents – and even some of our friends – we find ourselves amending our vocabulary to include phrases from our children’s new fascination with the world, and their unquenched need to describe it for the first time. I don’t have to imagine how it was for Europeans to discover North America for first time. I don’t have to imagine what it’s like to see the curvature of our Earth for the first time. Look at an intensely curious child to see these things happening before our very eyes.
Balthazar and I built a righteous fire in the back yard this evening. The wind was kicking so hard that we had a very flat, and very hot, fire at times. As such, the fire was spitting off an intense display of sparks and what I used to call “fireflies” in my childhood. Balthazar’s first word for this amazing discovery was “fire bubbles.” Really excellent term I think I’ll be adding to my vocabulary.
The boy’s a genius, I tell you.