October Changes

My seven year old daughter's homework this week was to write down and draw the changes she could see in the garden now that autumn was here.

She started off by looking at the obvious one - autumn leaves, turning a fetching shade of gold. Then she got a bit stumped but after a moment, she decided that the sky was different in autumn too. So that was added. What else? There was the weather. A sketch of rain, clouds and wind ensued. This process went on, adding more changes that the season brought - bugs dying, flowers disappearing, children wearing warm clothes - filling the homework sheet from edge to edge with not only what she could see, but using all her senses. I think my daughter has something of the writer's spirit in her.

It never ceases to astound me how immense a child's imagination and reasoning 'outside the box' is. As adults we can so easily lose that, concentrating instead on the necessary and the mundane. We forget to wonder 'what if' or notice the small details.

Today, I will spend some time wondering and looking for the details that I so often miss. The housework can wait until tomorrow. I will let the child in me stretch my imagination and lead me outside the box.