little robin red breast

Dear Little Leah, 

This week in school you've been learning all about birds - specifically robins. We are under strict orders to keep an eye out for them so you can report back to your teacher every day and mark your chart each time you spot one. Up to today, you've seen 14. And today we saw 12 more!

You've colored robins, cut them out of construction paper and read about them. You've learned about their blue eggs and the home they call a nest. In fact, you even got to make your very own nest - with twigs and leaves and mud. I'm told you thoroughly enjoyed the mud part. I can only imagine. 

The other day as we were walking to the car, just before you stepped off the curb, you paused. Actually, you completely halted. At first I thought it was just your usual Rett syndrome pause where nothing in your body seems to work and you simply cannot move. But this was different. You weren't tight at all. You nearly bent your body in half just to stare down at the ground below. When I finally took the time to see that you were looking at something, I decided to take a look too. 

This is what was apparently so intriguing:

I wondered why in the world you might be so interested in a pile of leaves and dirt clustered in the corner after a long, cold winter. 

And then I remembered the robins. And their nests. And realized that maybe it looked like a nest to you. It did look ridiculously similar to the creation you brought home - it just needed a little blue egg. 

So I asked you, and again, your eyes spoke a thousand words. You thought there was a robin's nest on the pavement and you didn't want to step on it! So, we moved over a bit and stepped around it. 

Oh, Leah, what a fun gift for me! I got a glimpse of your five year old thoughts and it was amazing! And it also reconfirmed to me the fact that you are learning and growing and stretching that brain of yours in incredible ways. 

There is a lot to learn, Miss Leah. For you and for me. And I'm so glad you have such a hunger for knowledge. And are teaching me to continue to hunger for it, no matter how much I think I know. Learning and growing is the best kind of freedom, Leah. I know your body probably seems like a prison most days, but with knowledge you can truly fly, just like the robins. 

I love you, Little Leah. 

Love, 

Mommy