MILESTONES

Milestones ... we all go through them.  "Rights of Passage" some may call them.  Whatever their name, they are those ordinary events in life that we rarely think about until we go through them ... or watch someone else go through them. They are those ordinary events that change our lives forever.  Take bicycle riding.  We don't even contemplate such an idea until we see a friend, older sibling or other person doing it. Or perhaps what inspires us is that newspaper ad showing shiny bright red, blue and black bicycles.  Whatever ... suddenly there is an urge to learn.  We besiege our Mom and Dad with our pleas and ultimately there we are in the yard learning to ride that new bicycle.  Once we learn this simple skill, the world opens up to us.  Suddenly Dad and Mom aren't limiting our activities to our bedroom or yard, and we are free to explore the neighborhood and visit friends.  Our lives are changed forever by this one simple, very ordinary act. This morning our little parakeet went through one of these experiences.  I am amazed it hadn't happened before.  She is, at age 3, shall we say "a very precoscious" child.  Nothing (and I mean absolutely nothing) in her world escapes her notice.  I have never seen a more curious child ... everything, in it's time,gets inspected.  And yes ... I can almost feel all of you who are parents shuddering, wondering which one of those events I am talking about :)  This morning it was the scissors' turn to be inspected.  And of course, what is inspection without experimentation?  Did she cut the dog's hair?  No.  Cut the cat's hair?  No ... that was last week. The sofa or some other expensive piece of furniture?  No ... thank heavens!  Okay ... now have you guessed?  Yes ... it was her hair.  Prior to this event, she had beautiful long black hair that fell to just beneath her shoulder blades.  Now she has a short haircut ... admittedly cute, but short.  Almost immediately after cutting she wanted her long hair back.  And so, as I trimmed her hair I reassured her that her hair would grow long again (if she doesn't cut it again ... which of course I thought but didn't say to her)  Did it change her life significantly?  Probably not.  But hopefully at least a little ... maybe she will have learned the consequences of playing with scissors anywhere near her head!  But then ... I can dream can't I?