five...

this week I met a girl called clara.
clara is five.
her grandpa, or "pop pop" as she calls him because in her words, accompanied by a palms up gesture of both hands, "he is our grandpa, so that makes sense", takes care of the landscaping at our property where I work.  s
he was sitting in the lobby on one of our leather couches sipping water waiting on her brother.  I walked around the counter to get some tea and struck up a conversation.
she is highly intelligent and articulate, speaking in intonation and nuance far older than her years.
clara told me all about her family, about how they live nearby but are currently in search of a tiny house for a move.
{sigh}... kiddos.  oh how lovely.
today, clara again walked through our lobby door alongside her brother.
she pointed at me, saying something about how she and I talked yesterday.  I greeted her, and she announced, "my shoes are on the wrong feet!", followed by a laugh and silly eye roll.
"can I help you switch those shoes, clara?", I inquired.
she nodded.
as we discussed her mismatched socks and whether double knots were her preference, I worked on getting her shoes sorted.  as I untied and tied again, she told me all about what sort of flowers her pop pop was planting this afternoon, explaining that they were brown in colour, but not "the dead sort of brown".  she assured me they do not plant dead flowers.
the storytelling ability in this little one delighted my spirit in a way I can hardly capture with words.
as her parents were waiting somewhere on the property for them both, I handed them both some fresh cold water and told them it was good to see them.
"good to see you, too!", clara said with a wave.

five year old friends may be my favourite of all time.  forgive me, adult friends who read this, but those little ones give me a dose of simple, silly, and serene that I find few other places.

I hope you get to chat with a little one today or very soon.
don't pass up that opportunity.
they have the keys to life without a doubt.

I do not have a picture of clara, but this is another little friend of mine called mary grace (along with another couple pals that bless me) who always has showered my spirit with goodness.

cheers,
kb.