A Sense of Wonder

I remember, long before Lily was born, Jen was applying for a position as a naturalist, and the application form listed a number of different age groups and asked her describe experience teaching to each of those groups, as well as what aspects she most enjoyed about teaching to those groups.

Jen felt confident about the position, because she was able to give a specific and detailed answer for each category. The one which struck me and which remains to me to this day was her answer and young school-age kids and the "sense of wonder" with which they view the world.

I hadn't spent much time with kids since I was one, but I see now that Jen was right about this, as she was about so many other things.

I love that Lily has this sense of wonder, and I hope she holds on to it as long as she can. She's so sincere about everything she does, and she can't wait to show off the drawing of her roller derby super hero who fights crime with the aid of an army of helpful plants. (Daisy Doom)

She's enthusiastic about her garden, as you can see in this gif, where she poses with a string bean.

See that little kitten with her? That's Kitty. Lily has a thousand stuffed animals, and I don't really remember how Kitty came to live with our family. You can find those guys at discount stores or the local supermarket, and we (or Lily's Oma) likely picked her up from one of those places.

Lily loves Kitty. How much does she love Kitty. She wrote this poem for Kitty. I think it might be the most painfully earnest thing I've ever read,

Two things:

1. It's an acrostic, where the first letter of each line spells out a word when taken together.
2. I think I was eighteen before I learned that poems didn't have to rhyme.