Spirited Sprouts

My daughter came home from school today, proud to share with me the contents of a crumpled up piece of Kleenex.

And I almost missed it...
I almost dismissed it...
the moment, the meaning.

I was actually a little too preoccupied to pay much attention. I'd spent much of the afternoon contemplating different blog ideas and none were clicking. It's not that I didn't have anything to write about; I've had some big themes this week of death and dying, dashed expectations, and family moving. I posted a Facebook status about my need for inspiration, and then mused for a while over the response from a friend who basically accused me of being up to my armpits in it, and he added "You're lucky" or something like that. He mentioned his own Italian children and said, "Well, it still seems to happen a lot more than I should allow, to lose my inspiration." Or something like that. Ispirazione. Our spirited children, should we pay attention, inspiring us, making us look again.

Where did she go?
"Merryn?"

Hmmm.
On the kitchen counter was a silly over sized 101 Dalmatians souvenir cup from about 8 years ago when I took Ally to see Disney on Ice. Why do we even still have this around? Probably because the snowcone it held was, like, $15 and I still haven't gotten my money's worth out of it.

I was ready to toss it into the sink when I looked at the bottom. Inside was a little pinto bean.
Now, where did that come from?

Merryn reentered the kitchen. "Mom! Look at this! The seed opens up and there's a seed coat and inside you can see part of this root and some of this black stuff and Look! It's growing! and see this little part here from the germination? And guess what! We can plant it!"

And I really marveled at this cool seed, the two symmetrical pieces, the tiny root, the bitty stem, the little leaf all growing inside. It's all there, waiting for the right mix of dirt and nurturing and attention and warmth... like ideas... like children...

I got all distracted again, by a phone call and strewn backpacks and a three year old driving a Jeep in reverse. And when I glanced out my kitchen window, I saw her.

I grabbed my camera and headed outside, because she really made me look, and now I really wanted to see.


It occurred to me that this child has a lot of confidence. First, she is excited about what she is learning and does a pretty nice job putting thoughts into words to explain it. Second, she has a "Can-Do" attitude that doesn't get distracted by protocol or phone calls. Third, she has the confidence that if she plants a seed, it will grow. Even if it's literally in the middle of a backyard that has a dozen children running through it and lawn maintenance guys who don't care if they plow over baseball mitts or bean sprouts.


I realized I've got a few bean sprouts myself.


So, tonight when I sat down at the computer and started writing again, it came a little easier, once I started paying attention to my inspiration.


Grow, little seed. Grow.