安贝·普赖斯/Amber Price
It's often the simple things in life that make the most significant impact on us. Simple things that change our view of life, change the way we make decisions, leave lasting memories in our minds.
It was late one afternoon in mid-September. My then three-month-old son was napping in his crib and I was spending the afternoon getting settled into our new home in Wisconsin. It was a rainy day. Not cold, but a steady drizzle had been falling all morning and into the afternoon.
As I wandered through our living room, picking up toys and blankets, I happened to glance out my second story balcony window. Puddles had formed on the ground and the rain had slowed.
Down below, where the grass met the pavement and a large puddle had formed, stood a boy of about four. He wore a T-shirt and a pair of shorts and up to his knees he sported a pair of red, rubber boots. Filled with a mixture of fascination and glee, he stomped through the puddle, mud and water flying. Over and over he walked, stomped, splashed through that puddle, happily enjoying what Mother Nature had left for him.
Not more than four feet away stood his mother, watching as her son explored his world. She watched as water droplets, airborne because of his stomping, landed on the boy's head, clothes and body. Mud flecks flew all around him and she still stood and watched with a pleasant smile on her face. To an unnoticing passer-by it was just two people going about their day. But from my new found sensitivity to the joys and experiences of motherhood, it was a touching moment that altered the way I will forever view my role as a mother.
A simple moment in my life made me stop and realize just how important the simple things really are. As the little boy in the rubber boots grows up, he probably will not remember each afternoon that his mother took him outside and let him stomp in the puddles or each bug that she let him stop to touch. He may not remember each little thing that his mother did for him every day—each time she let him explore his world. But he will remember that his mother loved him and he will know that she helped him to learn and grow in a pleasant and fun environment.