The Emperor's New Clothes

I went to pick the car up from the shop where I had left it for fine-tuning. My youngest and my eldest asked to accompany me, so they came along. As we were walking towards the bus stop my youngest pointed out something obvious, but which I had neglected to notice: "Look! A naked tree!" It's Autumn in Chile. The leaves are mostly gone from the plum trees that line the street that leads to Vitacura Ave., the closest street with a bus line passing through.

Children say the darndest things. They're so casual about pointing that which we probably should have taken notice of. My eldest son, in a soft, older brother voice, quickly corrected him and patiently explained about the seasons, how now it's Autumn, and that leaves fall. "I know, but look, it's naked."

It's not that young children don't understand complex concepts. In fact, if we choose to refrain from underestimating them, more times than not, they surprise us with the level of sophistication of their understanding. The diference between my two sons is that my eldest has lost the wonderment for things such as the seasons.

As we rode the on the bus my youngest son continued to say "Oh!" at every thing that caught his eye. It became a game later for his elder brother. He would say to me, "I bet he's going to say 'oh' again." He guessed every time. When we passed by a cage filled with canaries he said, "He's going to say 'oh' again." Surely enough, it happened. By anticipating what his brother's reaction would be, my eldest son was also on the lookout for wondrous things. By telling me about it, I was also allowed to take notice of the obvious and enjoy and wonder.