“Papa tell me a story.”
My 8 year-old daughter and I were trudging to school.
A blizzard hit the night before. The frozen roads were unplowed.
One mile, door to door.
So we walked.
A frustrating change.
We usually drove. Sometimes we biked.
But we didn’t talk in the car. Music on. Short commute.
Biking? Same thing. No conversation. Just single-file concentration.
But that snowy day it was too icy.
We walked.
And her arm slipped into mine and pulled tight.
“Papa tell me a story.”
I shared a childhood memory about “a little boy.”
Then she popped off a thought… or 23.
Next day the weather was still bad. We walked.
Before the driveway’s end she asked, “Papa tell me a story about the little boy.”
Later, leaving the school, I asked myself, “What does this change make possible?”
I decided, going forward I would always try and walk her to school with a story.
Even better, I offered to barter my story for one from her.
We made a pact: I would share a “ little boy” story outbound; she would share a school day story on the return.
And so, a frustrating change made something new possible.
I came to treasure those walks.
These days, Covid has changed all of that.
Frustrating.
Yet, now I know to wonder…
What does this change make possible?
THINKER THURSDAYS™
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