A walk in the neighborhood

When I was a child, I remember walking in my neighborhood with my grandmother. She was patience with me as I stopped numerous times to exclaim over various trees, flowers, nuts, their beauty, size or shape. I pointed out the blue of the sky and we guessed at what the cloud shapes looked like to each of us. She walked me past several factories and we delighted in the smell of the bakery one in particular. Further along, we came to the building where the trolley ended and when the doors were open wide and no activity going on, we were able to peek and the big railings inside where the trolleys were actually turned and sent back in the opposite direction. That was fun to see and wonder at.

As an adult, I can remember walking in the same neighborhood on my way to the subway station. I would hurry along, always a little behind schedule and not really paying much attention to my surroundings. I'm sure the pretty flowers, lively green trees and beautiful blue sky painted with white puffy clouds were still there but I never took the time to examine them and enjoy. It seemed there was too much to do, too much in a rush to get somewhere else.

Now as a senior citizen, I walk my neighborhood this time with my eyes downcast, watching for cracks in the sidewalk or small twigs that could trip me and make me fall (God forbade to break a bone). I do stop often along the way though to enjoy the beauty of nature. I exclaim again over the tiny leaves, which we called "Polly noses" lying on the ground and remember how we used to open them and put them on our noses as children. I stop to watch the squirrels running quickly away with acorns to hide. I stop to watch a formation of birds flying south or busily gathering good for their nests. Once again, I find I find time to study all on the earth that we often take for granted.