Learning how to learn

Despite Brylee's 6 months of perfecting her walking, she's a bit clumsy. Not because she can't walk, but because her eyes, glued to her shoes, just follow her feet wherever they lead. Relinquishing control of her feet to her feet themselves, she's all over the place often ending up in the grass or running into an unexpected pole. One such time, she was scurrying along behind me following her shoes wherever they should tak her. She scurried right on past the sidewalk and jumped when the bush she ran into startled her. She looked up at me, grinned and immediately started walking along, hand reached out to feel all the plants as she continued on herr way. For a brief moment I had the inclination to pull her hand away and tell her to leave the plants alone. That inclination subsided as an even stronger inclination arose to not miss out and to feel the plant too. It looked deceivingly prickly, as it actually tickled to the touch. The next plant had large, smooth leaves and the next short, stubby leaves. Each felt different. Each oppened a world of sensation that I haven't known probably since I was 18 months old. Let this be my lesson, that instead of being the no-sayer stomping out my daughter's on-the-run learning, instead, I'll continue to squat beside her and let her teach me a thing or two about experiencing the world around me.