A Walk With Aliya

Today I had an opportunity to slow down, be in the moment, and experience joy—and I’m happy to say, I took it. The thing is, I don’t always take these kinds of opportunities. As crazy as that sounds, there are many times I choose to be annoyed, overwhelmed, burdened, frustrated, and even angry. Sarah had an appointment and while Maia and Keana were at school, I still had Aliya to look after. Sarah wasn’t sure if I was going to try and work while she was gone, so she had turned on the TV for Aliya to watch. I admit, there are times I take advantage of the electronic baby sitters, but today was a day for a walk.

“Aliya, how about a walk?” I asked, and immediately she said, “Sure. I turn the TV off,” and popped up off the floor to do just that. Then she said, “My boots are in the bucket,” so we got them out, put on her socks—one on the outside of her pants and one with her pants tucked in it—and we headed out.

We walked at her pace and showed each other things along the way. I noticed a weird, gelatinous blob that we both poked with a stick and a hummingbird way up high. She pointed out a smashed snail and asked, “What’s that?! Yucky?” We ventured up Christmas Tree Lane and got up close to all the decorations to investigate. She narrated and asked questions almost the entire time.

“Who’s that?” she’d ask and I would reply, “Santa Claus,” and she’d repeat it. Then she said, pointing to Mrs. Claus, “Grandma?” I loved it when she pointed to snowmen and asked, “Who’s that?” She also decided at some point that she wanted her picture taken with only some of the scenes, and she had particular poses and placement in mind. You can see by the photos below that some weren’t exactly conventional.

She would hold my hand while we walked from scene to scene, then let go as we approached it so she could explore on her own. Lately she’s been refusing to hold hands on walks, so this particularly made it special for me.

The whole walk took about an hour and she insisted on walking the entire way, even after admitting, “I’m tired!” about 45 minutes into it. She balanced on curbs on the way home and and when we reached our driveway, stopped for a second and said, “Ready. Set. Goooo!” and took off running to race me the rest of the way.

So today I’m happy to say I took an opportunity with Aliya to stretch, feel the sunshine, notice everything, smell the crisp air, and even the “yucky poo-poo” too. I took the time to be on Aliya’s schedule and at her level—just for a little bit—and it helped me to ditch my resentments and accept joy. That walk today was a gift—one I don’t always accept—but my hope is that the more I do, the easier it gets. I’m fortunate because I have these opportunities every day and they are truly life-changing…as long as I’m willing and open.

[pe2-gallery class=”alignleft” ]
IMG_4484.jpgIMG_4486.jpgIMG_4487.jpgIMG_4490.jpgIMG_4491.jpgIMG_4492.jpg[/pe2-gallery]