Childlike wonderment – the best thing since sliced bread

As a single working mum, I often find myself bogged down in the day-to-day nitty-gritty of parenthood, so busy finding everyone matching shoes and remembering to at least offer fruit regularly, that I forget to notice the wonder of life.

One of the joys of having children though is that they make you stop, think, and see things through their eyes. Their enthusiasm and imagination is infectious and if you spare some time to step into their world, you can gain a whole new and inspiring perspective on what you would normally take for granted.

Take last night for example. Yesterday was a busy day, and in my rush to meet deadlines I forgot to buy yeast for the breadmaker. A forgivable crime I’m sure in the grand scheme of things. On our way home from Badgers therefore, Belle and I stopped off at our local newsagents for a loaf of bread.

When we got home, I gave Belle the bread to carry in, and as she picked her way carefully to the front door (I obviously haven’t done anything sensible like clear the snow from the path) she looked at the bread curiously.

“Mummy,” she asked me, “is this bread sliced?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“Already?” she asked, a look of amazement on her face.

“Yes,” I said again.

“Wow!!” she exclaimed.

If only we could all see the wonder in something so simple…

Flickr image from nettsu

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17 Comments

  1. Phyllis Stephen
    12 January, 2010 / 5:30 pm

    Absolutely lovely story! How innocent they are……..and how quickly they grow up…..

    • 13 January, 2010 / 12:13 pm

      Very true – if only my 14 year old could get the same thrill from a loaf of bread!

  2. 12 January, 2010 / 5:37 pm

    This reminds me of that Stargate SG-1 episode where they provide a “feast” for a visiting alien who is absolutely stunned at seedless grapes !

    • 13 January, 2010 / 12:14 pm

      To be fair, seedless grapes are pretty clever! How do they even work??

  3. 13 January, 2010 / 11:04 am

    You haven’t cleared the entrance? Naughty! (says the one with an ever increasing icy layer on the steps in front of the door).

    • 13 January, 2010 / 12:15 pm

      Nope – I think all the other houses have deliberately cleared neat paths on their sections of pavement just to make me look bad…

  4. Yvonne Oots
    13 January, 2010 / 3:57 pm

    Jo, loved the story… But as I read the story I had to laugh at seeing your daughter going to school and declaring that bread is indeed sliced….
    It really gave me a giggle.

  5. 13 January, 2010 / 8:48 pm

    ahhh how cute. Yes you are right my kids reminded me how lovely the green broccoli is the other day. ‘So green Mummy!’. Just found your blog via BMB, very nice! Mich x

    • 14 January, 2010 / 9:10 am

      Cute :-) Broccoli IS very green… I am going to practice being amazed by ordinary things like that – ooh mummy, that list of jobs for you to do is SOOO long!

  6. 13 January, 2010 / 9:34 pm

    Bless her, wee soul. Sadly my daughter would be amazed if I showed her a loaf that wasn’t sliced. You are very good to make your own. A bread maker is on my wish list….

    • 14 January, 2010 / 9:11 am

      I don’t really think of it as making my own, it is more like bunging stuff in a tin! plus it is actually less stressful than remembering at 11pm that you have no bread and having to send the kids to school with some kind of made up ‘sandwich alternative’…

  7. 14 January, 2010 / 9:08 am

    Bless her!

    And I’m with Met Mum. As an experienced snow person (it doesn’t half snow here in the winter, last year was a shocker, but none at the moment!) it does pay to get the snow off the step before it goes all icy. A real pain but definitely one of those chores that is worth doing. Trust me, I learnt the hard way!

    • 14 January, 2010 / 9:12 am

      Luckily it is all gone now, but I will bear it in mind fro next time – imagine it would be rather embarassing to have a snow accident on your own doorstep, literally :-)

  8. 14 January, 2010 / 10:12 am

    She’s got a very good point, who does slice the bread anyway?!

    CJ xx

  9. 14 January, 2010 / 10:14 am

    I thought it just grew like that on the bread trees??

    • Yvonne Oots
      14 January, 2010 / 12:18 pm

      Jo, that is how sliced bread happens… on very tall bread trees…
      :)
      Yvonne

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