Eyes on the Sky

I've been a little particular about letting the boys use my new digital camera since the last one bit the dust a few months ago. (It fell victim to some rather rigorous "Lego" filmmaking.) So now when they ask to use it, they know they have to have a pretty good reason for it - not just that the cat is being really cute or because the crazy squirrel's climbing the windowscreen again.

So, last evening, when Bookworm bounded up to me all excited and said ...

"Mum, can I please use your camera for a quick minute - PLEASE? You just can't believe the sunset tonight!"

... well, what could I do but hand it over? :)

A few minutes later Bookworm returned the camera to me (unscathed), but first he showed me the image he had just captured on the digital screen. As you can see above, it truly was a breathtaking sky.

My son looked at me proudly and said:

"Now that one's making the blog."

(But of course.)

You know, we mothers get all excited when our children show an interest in something. We can't help ourselves - their enthusiasm is catching! It's fun to watch, to wonder where it might go. It gets our parental wheels turning. So of course I found myself wondering - maybe Bookworm will be a naturalist some day, or a professional photographer? Perhaps he'll be interested in meterology, or maybe he'll develop an eye for color and become an artist?

Any of those things could happen, but maybe it's simpler than that. Maybe, he'll just grow up feeling in tune with the world around him, conscious of the day's subtle rhythm. As he matures and his life gets busier and more complex, I'd like to think that these little things will still grab his notice. That something as fleeting and ordinary as a sunset will still give him pause for thought.

It's not part of any lesson plan per se, but it is something I hope to pass on to my boys - an appreciation for the simple, little beauties of life. They're free for the taking, and they're always with us. You all know how often I post pictures of the sky here at my blog - whether it be sunny, snowy, shadowy, or somewhere in between. It's a constant that's always changing and it's always, if nothing else, interesting.

Well, I guess someone has been paying attention - I guess a few pairs of eyes have been following my own to the sky. And I guess, maybe, my own enthusiasm has been catching.

By the way, this evening's sunset is just as striking - Bookworm just called my attention to it.

Have a wonderful evening, my friends. :)