So this morning as we took our short jaunt to the bus stop, we noticed the buds were busting all over the place. Yes, indeed, spring is here! And Andy wanted to know about the red things on one tree, and if they would be cherries. No, I explained, this was a maple tree, and these red things were blooms. On another tree, the beds were opening into leaves.
I was suddenly reminded of Helen Keller. I have always been struck with the story of her learning words. After several days of trying to teach Helen to spell, Anne held her hand under water at the pump while spelling 'water'; and Helen suddenly got it. Words meant something, and a whole new world opened up. Kind of like Andy understanding the sign for candy.
After years of pointing to and naming trees, it hit Andy smack in the face- trees had names. There were different kinds. Suddenly, he wanted to know what kind of tree this was. And what about this one? How about that one? What kind of tree is that? And that? And that?
Its amazing to see a little mind click into gear, with voracity and determination. There is meaning here, and I want it all now!
Unfortunately, most of the trees were different kinds of maple trees, and without the leaves, I'm a bit at a loss (I know you can tell which one is which without the leaves, but I'm not that good). I did get to point out holly, dogwood, oak, pear, and more maple. Hey, its a start.
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