Love — then and now.

A reminder to approach every new meeting as if it were the first.

She was in her own world.

Captivated by her own 3-year-old fascinations. Looking through the books, munching on her snacks, preoccupied by wonder.

Just a row behind, he almost fell over, teetering on the highest tips of his toes. Only tall enough to be able to peer over the back of the chair, he went unnoticed.

He stared on, while she had no idea he existed.

After a concentrated effort, he gave up. She’d never see him, even though he saw her completely.

Defeated, he laid down on the bench. His legs kicked restlessly.

To mute the disturbance, his sister scooped him up. And suddenly, he was in full view.

The little girl looked back and their eyes met.

She gazed at him in a familiar wonder, layered with curiosity. He looked like her — a fellow child.

By instinct, without breaking her gaze, she lifted her small hand and offered a noncommittal wave of her fingers.

He waved back, and a smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.

She waved again.

In that moment, an unspoken bond was created.

Gaze broken, only by his descent to having his feet on the floor, he played with his toy car.

She got hold of her mom’s keys.

“These are keys.”

“Keys?”

“Yeah.”

The music started up again. They grinned at each other and hobbled back and forth to the harmony.

At this age, they don’t know that one day, this interaction will have an added layer of complexity.

It’ll require conversations, disagreements, compromise, and a surrender of egos.

It’ll be blessed with laughter, bliss, and joy.

It’ll be a risk of rejection, resulting in the promise of love.

It’ll ebb and flow as both engage, get distracted, refocus, and then have to decide what they want.

It’ll be colored with every hurt they’ll experience from this day on.

It’ll be filtered through all of the personal and biased truths they will go in to create.

For right now, it’s still a pure and simple connection.

I hope for them to experience this joy again as they grow older — to meet someone without being jaded.

To approach every new encounter with the same sense of wonder and awe that comes with discovering someone new; no expectations, judgement, or previous assumptions.

And I hope for you to do the same. If children can do it, you can too.

After all… once upon a time, that was you.

Never let your past experiences harm your future. Your past can’t be altered and your future doesn’t deserve the punishment. ~ Anonymous

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