Andrew & The Giant Elephant Ears
August 12, 2008 – 6:10 am
In the middle of an extremely hectic day yesterday I received a phone call about a koi who needed a new home. I will tell you the fish tale another day. Just know that for me to get the huge fish required that I immediately drop what I was doing, juggle my schedule around, and run home to prepare for the new arrival. I called my friend Diane who also dropped everything to run and help me. God Bless friends like Diane. I have never called on her when she didn’t assist me. Even though she walked over immediately, by the time she arrived, Robert had already safely placed the fish and there was no longer any need for her help. I apologized for dragging her away from her busy schedule but she just shook it off and decided to use the opportunity to show her grandson Andrew around my yard.
As Andrew approached the gate, his eyes glazed over with excitement. From his 8-year old perspective, everything was larger than life. The pond was enormous, the fish were whales and the vegetables were like Jack’s giant beanstalks. As Diane and I sat chatting, Andrew scaled the waterfall, peaked under the rocks and fed the fish in the upper pond. Fully absorbed in the joy of discovery, he delighted us with his curiosity.
Now, many children have visited my pond but Andrew’s visit was special. Watching him, I saw myself at that age, completely enraptured by nature in all her magical forms. As they left, Andrew made one last discovery, the giant elephant ears. To most kids, these are just green things, but to him they were enormous leaves that you could wear if you wanted to, or hide behind, or use as a secret place from which to watch the tiny birds come to the feeder. At one point he mimicked the bird feeder, standing stoically behind a leaf waiting for a bird to land on his tongue.
Oh the joys of untainted children in a garden. May we all take the opportunity to enjoy them.
