Ollie and I found a shady spot in the yard and sat down with a garden trowel and started to dig. His two year old energy had temporarily been spent pushing his truck in circles and he was ready for a rest but not for a nap.
If he remembers nothing else about me I hope it will be that I was a little strange. Mimi named two mealy worms randomly unearthed John and Louise. Ollie said "bugs". These tiny creatures are prehistoric looking. Their hard, shiny articulated bodies respond to interruption by curling up into balls and playing possum for a few seconds until they uncurl and scurry away. Ollie watched as the worms suddenly became perfectly round little spheres, stayed that way for awhile and then hurried into the nearest safe spot of earth. It was difficult to read his thoughts on all of this. If nothing else, he was thoroughly immersed in these little dramas. He was sleepy and it was time to go inside.
Will he remember those twenty minutes of his toddlerhood? Will he ever realize that his grandmother wanted him to be able to "see" and not just see things all around him. That ability separates the creative from the not. To celebrate the ordinary is a gift. His cousin Miles had it...documenting things most would overlook as mundane or not even there. Instilling a respect for life however small and seemingly insignificant- that would be nice, too.
I will cherish those moments , wishing I could have more of those times with those far away or those gone. Little increments of time spent together. priceless, timeless.
