Noticing

Two of my brothers and their families recently spent some time 'down on the farm' here in ND. We always enjoy seeing everyone.

Being with children necessitates a greater awareness of the little things. Like what? Well, the 16 month old who is teething caused me to scan the lower area of every room she visited to make sure I had not left anything out that was poisonous or that could be damaged.

An even greater awareness came to me as we spent an afternoon at the Fargo Street Fair with my five-year-old niece who traveled the streets in her miniature wheelchair. I noticed her looking for ramps from the sidewalks to the streets, saw the large chunks of concrete littering the ramps and the large cracks in same. Additionally I watched people look away from her smiling face as she wheeled along, looking at all of the wonderful items for sale. I watched as she found some handicapped doorways (the button pushed to automatically open the door) out of order.

Just noticing.