One of many wonderful advantages of having a child in your life is that you are reminded daily of the importance of operating at a slower pace, one where you notice and appreciate the detail in objects and places that, as a busy grown up, you would otherwise just not see. As Sophia learns about the world around her and takes the time to, for example, pick up a leaf, turning it over and over as she absorbs its shape, texture, size, taste (!) outline, she draws my attention to it as well. In an almost meditative fashion we sit quietly and explore together, oblivious to all else.

I say thank you every day for my daughter. I think I learn as much from her as she does from me.