A Sense of Wonder

I was the happiest man on the planet when Elena was born. I paid no mind to the naysayers, the ones who'd say "Oh, I bet you wanted a son." I wanted a child, and child is what I got, bright and loving and adorable, eager to explore the world, eager to learn. That little tree was about the same age as Elena, two perhaps, and the tree became a casualty of a hurricane a few years later. Just as well I suppose, because the other trees in the yard have grown over the years. About 20 feet away there's an Australian Pine that was planted as a seedling at the same time as this tree, and it's now about 60 feet tall.

Here Elena is looking up at new little leaves sprouting on the branches. Everyplace we went she asked questions, always finding new things to wonder at. A few years later Jonathan came along, her little brother, and Elena loved being the teacher, telling him this or that, answering all his questions as best she could. Eventually she became an attorney and now practices law in Atlanta. Jonathan is working on a doctorate at Harvard. His wife Deb is pregnant and in five weeks or so he'll have a little girl, his own. I really wish they lived closer.