Our children love to walk down our street, talk to the neighbors, look for interesting animals (such as a cat down the way that always seems to disappear the moment it hears us coming) and collect sentimental “treasures” from our nature walk.
These treasures usually include dried leaves, small sticks and an assortment of rocks (because I say a big “NO” to picking up, much less bringing home, the caterpillars, dead earthworms and other bugs they tend to gravitate towards).
For most of us, the thought of a rock collection probably calls to mind pictures of small gray pebbles, or perhaps you envision slightly larger stones, made smooth from years in a sparkling, clear stream. But for the Hughes family, our rock collection is something all together different. (I hesitate to share for fear the city may show up and demand we pay for damages.) You see our most prized rocks are none other than pieces of asphalt that have broken apart on our street (or ones that little fingers have pried loose)! Whatever the case, this is a filthy pastime, but one they thoroughly enjoy. They come in from their treasure hunt, eyes sparkling with excitement and pride, as they show off their finds. At this point, they are various shades of gray, black and brown. I’m speaking of the children here, not the “rocks” themselves. But their little eyes are clear and shining. Such joy they find in the most mundane things. I could probably take a lesson from them. Keep treasure hunting my babies and keep finding joy.
