Everyday Kidling Magic

[omly]

At the bus stop this morning there was a little girl who was delighting in the fact that she could both see her reflection in the glass bus stop wall as well as see through it. She told her mom "I am in the trash!" with great delight and a touch of the enticingly forbidden. I was really impressed by her mom too, encouraging her to think but not pushing in a direction: parental love and support at its most unassuming.

They got on the bus with me, the same bus I take all the time. There the little girl shyly greeted a man in a suit and tie whom she didn't know. He later joined in on the discussion she and her mom were having about possibly getting a treat at Dunkin Donuts before school (preschool from her age). Then a hardworn middle aged woman joined in with just a few words.

The little girl waved to everyone (both involved in the conversation and not) when it was time for her and her mom to go, and she received many waves in return.

It would be fair to think that this all by itself was magic enough, and you would not be wrong. But then something even more magical happened: all those closed adults on their morning commute who had opened just a little for a sparkling little girl, they stayed open.

They discussed the best local bakeries and pastry shops. They compared notes on different aspects of their lives, and it gained momentum. Several more adults joined in the conversation, including the bus driver. And as we arrived at our destination I heard an exchange of names between some unlikely pairs. "Hi Daryl, it was very nice to meet you."

All these adults rediscovering themselves and sharing despite the superficial differences of background, appearance, and affluence and finding a way to break out of their insulative commute bubbles in order to do so: magic indeed.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

Comments

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Charmed! :)

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

Awww. And yay for good parenting and good human-ing being "catching". :)

[jasra]

How truly wondrous!

[majes.livejournal.com]

Lovely way to start the day!

I've often observed that all folks need is even a flimsy bridge or minor context to help form connections in this way. This is one of the reasons I like gaming at parties; it gives just enough of a reason to get started talking with other party guests, even ones who aren' t playing. The connection often sticks around for hours after the game is done, and the shared experience will sometimes give a touchstone that can last for years.

[heinleinfan.livejournal.com]

So very cool. This made me smile big, thanks for sharing.

[beah.livejournal.com]

This is lovely. Thank you for sharing.

[dancer.livejournal.com]

I have noticed that being pregnant, and now being a parent with a cute kid means I talk with a lot more folks. Parenting is such a common activity (as are cute kids) that more complete strangers either feel social OR break out of their funk to be social.

I've always been a social/outgoing person, but I still have the Bostonian 'I'm doing my thing and you are doing your thing and we just will pretend the other isn't here now' tendancy, but Mina has kind of broken through that. It is kind of hard to ignore a cute kid babbling DA DA DA DA and "talking" with her Mom when they walk by, I think.

I need to try and remember this as she gets older and is less apt to do this kind of thing. :)