Walk with Katie

After we dropped Tommy off at preschool, Katie and I decided to go for a walk in our neighborhood. We played at the park and then continued walking. I learned what an interesting person Katie has become. She did most of the talking and suggested most of the games we should play. We stuck our hands in snow and then made hand prints on the sidewalk. We did interpretive dances while balancing on big rocks in strangers yards. Katie would first demonstrate and then tell me to try. I never got it right on the first try and she would say, "no, watch me" and she would demonstrate the dance again. Then we walked a little further and sat down to play with some rocks that lined the sidewalk. Before today, I just saw those rocks as a smart and waterless alternative to grass on the boulevard. Today, they looked so different. Partly because it snowed and rained yesterday and they were much more colorful, and partly because I was looking at them through Katie's eyes and they were now little animals. We played there for a long time, not worrying what the neighbors were thinking, and then we walked home. As we walked, Katie said, "can I look now?" I looked at her and she had pulled her stocking cap over her face. It was quite funny. I felt like I was seeing my little girl for the first time as a friend I would choose to hang out with.