This One

Last night I made a trip to the grocery store. I'd planned on going by myself, but at the last minute Emily decided she wanted to tag along. I was fine with that, because it is a rare treat to get to spend a couple of hours with just one kid.

In the car, I had the radio on at first, but then I decided to take advantage of this occasion and have some uninterrupted conversation with my 5 year old.

She had been to ballet the night before, so I asked, "Emily, what do you like best about dancing?"

She thought, and answered with a drawn out, "Well...."

She thought some more. "I like it because....."

And some more. "Well......"

She looked out the window thoughtfully and thought some more. "Ummmm......"

Finally she said, "Hmmm.....I don't know."

"Really? After all of that thinking you don't know? Why do you like dance so much?"

"Well....I just like the way she teaches me."

I smiled.

I had promised Emily that we could buy a new fish for our aquarium at the store. She was so excited. We walked back to the animal department and starting evaluating all the different types of fish, trying to decide on just the right one. There were some lovely fruit tetras and some very colorful glo fish--even pink ones that I was sure she would choose. There were other sorts of colorful fish that I thought would add some interest to our tank.

But there was one aquarium with a lone fish. He was a small fellow--a little black tetra with a beat up fin. He wasn't nearly as outstanding as the colorful fish that we had seen, yet this was the one Emily chose, because, she said, "He looks lonely".

I smiled.

I so enjoy those moments when I get to spend one on one time with my kids. In Emily's case, it just reminded me of her compassionate heart and her thoughtful spirit. She enjoyed the opportunity to be my helper in the store without having to take turns with anyone. I think times like that are important every now and then, and it made the usually dreaded trip to the grocery store a more enjoyable one!