Out of the blue

It happens that I get to visit with some people quite often, and others I don't see except for perhaps one or two occasions per annum. Evidence the family I dropped in on yesterday. A quick phone call was enough to tell me that they were home, and that they were going to be there for the duration.

Actually this visit was quite fortuitous because not only did I get to see the usual occupants of the house, but their daughter who has been living State side for the last good number of years. She also brought with her, her two young boys, one of which is aged 9 now and the other who I had never had the pleasure to meet until now.

When the elder of the two dismounted from his quad ride (which was going on while I arrived), we exchanged the customary 'hi's' and 'how are you's' and I proceeded to ask him whether he remembered the last time I'd seen him. It turns out that that moment was about three years ago, and owing to the distance between our respective domiciles, we haven't crossed paths since then. It took a while, and a little bit of reminder about the Mountie bear that I have attached to my backpack - a souvenir that he wanted to take with him, before he remembered, but then it was smooth sailing.

As to his little brother, well the image of this two-year-old standing (almost hidden) in the knook of the cupboard, and his piercing blue eyes which peered from beneath a shock of blond hair with the wonder and inquisitiveness characteristic of little ones, springs to mind. I introduced myself to him, but got no reaction. This didn't phase me though; I just told him that when he was ready, he could come and say hi, and we'd be fine.

By the end of the day, we were best friends, sharing a meal together and chatting like long lost friends. It's wonderful for adults to get lost in the world of children every now and then. Seeing the world through their eyes gives us new perspectives on the ordinary stuff that we might otherwise take for granted.

When you let kids tell you about a walk around town, or a spontaneous basketball game played before a net that is at least ten times their own height, or the treats they got at the neighbourhood convenience store, or their syber friends named Mario and Weegee (characters from the Mario Cart game on the Wii system, life takes on a whole new meaning and we adults find an abundance of things for which we are thankful.