I watched my niece today. Tiny little girl of just two. I listened to baby babbling, and suddenly I realize she is talking more and babbling less. She is stringing words together into sentences, understanding more complex ideas. She has her own imagination and makes up her own stories for herself.

And suddenly I look and see in that tiny little face, not just my baby niece, but a glimpse at the girl she is becoming, and I see a little of the woman that perhaps she will be someday. And I suddenly remember again how quickly a whole lifetime can slip by without even seeing it in the rush to live it.

So we watched the rain falling together.

We read books and counted sheep.

We watched bugs and dug in the garden.

We took time to just lay in the clover and to see the birds catch worms.

There are so many things I want to teach this little girl. So much I want to share with her. But I hope that someday, she’ll remember that today, we just made time to see.

written for five minute friday