Of Bunnies and Flowers and Things
This past weekend LB participated in an Easter Egg Hunt in my parents’ neighborhood. Yes, I know, but apparently nobody informed the coordinators that the majority of America is currently operating on the 2007 calendar.
I was surprised at how quickly Button picked up the concept. Find an egg, put it in the basket, go get another one. Her progress was slowed only by the fact that she refused to use more than two fingers to touch the eggs.
I believe I’ve mentioned my daughter’s phobia of any and all things “dirty.” Egg hunting was no exception…after all, they had been on the ground for more than 3 seconds.
Most of the egg hunt was complete madness. There were LOTS of kids there. And for every kid there were two or more parents, grandparents, siblings and dogs.
And once the coordinators yelled “GO!” the competitive natures of these adults were let loose with reckless abandon. Kids were being steered, coached and carried to the nearest egg and GO GO GO LET’S GO THERE’S NO TIME FOR OBSERVATION BILLY LEAVE THAT FLOWER ALONE HURRY WHILE THERE ARE STILL EGGS TO BE HAD! When Billy wasn’t fast enough to get to the eggs around him, he was plucked up and rushed to a patch that had not yet been discovered by the swarm of frenzied kids and parents.
Madness.
But Button was having the time of her life. She drank in all the chaos around her and adored running around on the lawn. She pulled in a pretty nice haul, and afterward made short work of the cookies and punch - stopping only briefly to examine her “dirty!” hand. Such sacrifice.
And while the other kids were frantically delving into their eggs ( and disappointment because said eggs were not filled candy, but with zoo stickers and tiny bubble bottles), Button managed to find a true treasure that captivated her attention - one that was so obviously special that she simply couldn’t fathom how it had been neglected by the other hundreds of kids.
A treasure so unique, so fascinating, that it is no wonder that it overshadowed all the other events and shenanigans and eggs and cookies and giant bunnies and hundreds of screaming, running children. I mean, what child wouldn’t be awestruck with delight upon coming face to face with none other than…
a flower.
But such is life and the mind of a child. I hope she is always able to find such joy in the simplest of things.
April 4th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
That’s got to be the most touching easter egg hunting story I have ever heard of. She is such a “girl” and I mean that as a complete compliment. My daughter was kind of like that, they make you aware of the smallest of life’s treasures.
You can totally tell the “dirty” thing w/her 2 fingers, lol. I can’t believe how big she’s getting. She’s undoubtedly at the cutest age. Bottle her!
I hope her Easter is just as special.
April 5th, 2007 at 10:17 am
My son eats like Button picks things up. We call it fancy eating.
April 5th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
she is soooo cute! I love it that she was so enthralled with a simple flower, we should all stop and smell the dandelions more often.
April 6th, 2007 at 8:26 am
“Undeniable Cuteness” is dead-on.
That second picture is so much ‘little girl’, and not ‘baby’.
And, reading your latest post, I want to say that you can see clear indicators that in spite of the frantic-must-get-thigs done air that pervades your mother’s home, Little Button has her own (well-defined and discerning) sense of what is worthy of her time and attention. And it doesn’t seem to be dictated by much else than her own wonder.