Birds are Singing ... Spring is in the Air

I was outside walking with the kids yesterday when I spotted my first robin of the season.

We stopped walking and I tried to show the kids the robin but it kept flying away. Then I noticed the rest of them.

A tree rich with berries was full of robins. They were flying from all around to feast on the berries.

Then I heard the honking of Canadian geese high up above us flying in a "V" formation. They were coming home.

We looked back into the tree and saw more birds. These birds I didn't know, but their hair was back combed in the fashion of a blue jay but they weren't blue. Perhaps a cedar waxwing?

They weren't our ordinary variety of birds. We are used to crows and sea gulls. These birds were new to our eyes this season.

We stopped walking. We pointed up into the tree and the sky. We stopped and marvelled and simply enjoyed the moment.

Would I have done that if I was out for a walk alone? Probably not. With another adult? Perhaps. But not on the same level as I enjoyed yesterday.

Hanging out with kids all day gives me 'permission' to see the world fresh and new. Every day.

If we allow ourselves these moments, it brings the small wonders of a day into focus. Whether it is birds, planes, lady bugs or the ever-changing traffic lights. These very same conversations become very inane day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute.

This morning, as my 2 1/2 year-old copies every single action, sound and facial expression of my 1 1/2 year-olds? Not so precious. It is a game that gets old very fast (especially when I know that we have at least nine more hours of this particular game).

Taking a small moment and bringing your full attention to it can be a good thing. It can also work against you.

Today I will try to focus on the birds in the sky ...