ROSES OUTSIDE THE HEDGE

Children, I've always loved. They see how pretty what you did is instead of noticing the slip you made while doing it (which is what adults do). Children love beautiful flowers; most adults would cut back growth to fit the hedge.

At the park, there were times I noticed unruly toddlers, but when I showed them a lonely turtle who surfaced in the pond or a baby grasshopper trying to balance on the head of a disintegrating cotton dandelion; they quieted down right away. Most youngsters were merely starved for attention. That's why it saddened me that today's society safety necessitates telling children not to talk to strangers, period. Little ones get wary of me if I as much as smile at them, and they turn and run to their guardians.

Kinya must've wondered why I excitedly took pictures of that bird in the creek. When COVID-19 first hit in 2020, schools were closed, and hundreds of children had hours of time on their hands. Parents were grateful when strangers at the park could point out birds for their children to sketch. I'd shown this waterfowl to a happy junior artist then. But when the pandemic got under control, conditions went back to NO TALKING TO STRANGERS. Sigh. No; I don't want COVID to get worse. But I do wish I could talk with the tykes at the park again.

I suppose we don't long for trials either, even when we thank God for some of the treasures we could've gleaned no other way.