We Saw A Helicopter

Last weekend we took a trip to the mall. We let the kids meet the Easter Bunny, then we stopped for lunch at the food court and did a little shopping. By the time we were done, we were all tired and ready to head home.

I held Stephanie's hand as we hurried along on our way through the mall to the parking lot. At the very last "middle of the aisle" vendor booth there was a man flying a remote control helicopter. I briefly glanced at it, but barely registered that it was there. All of a sudden I heard "OH Mommy, LOOK!" Stephanie had completely stopped walking and was standing in awe, finger pointing at the helicopter, mouth open in amazement.

My first reaction was to tug her hand and irritably say "come on, it's late, we're tired, let's go!" But something made me stop just as the words started to form.

Instead, I knelt down next to her, looked up at the helicopter and said "Wow! Look at that helicopter flying in the air! That is so awesome!" And you know what? From that perspective it really was. It had lights all over it, and from the level of a two-year old it looked huge, and it was flying all on it's own! She had no idea there was a man with a remote controlling it, in her mind it was magical.

She shrieked delightedly as it swooped and dove, and her eyes sparked with awe. A minute later, the man landed it, and we moved along. It took less than 5 minutes to detour, but it made all the difference in the world. Stephanie felt validated because I took the time to see what she saw, and didn't brush it off as silly nonsense. Dan and I were relieved because we hadn't had to deal with a shrieking temper tantrum because I dragged her away before she had a chance to watch for a few minutes.

This simple moment made me feel warm and happy, and that feeling stayed with me for the rest of the day. It can be so easy to rush through life as an adult, and expect our children to just go along with us. We snap at them, we hurry them along, we have our minds fixed on where we're going instead of the journey we take to get there. But one of the most amazing qualities of children is their ability to see the small things. To them, the journey is the important part.

I would never have thought that a remote control helicopter was special or fascinating. In fact, I would never really have noticed it. But to a 2 year old, there has never been anything as magical as this piece of metal, covered in lights, soaring through the air. I think we can all benefit from taking a few minutes to seize these small moments, and view the world through the eyes of a child. You never know...you might just find a helicopter flying through the mall!

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