Her forehead and hands glued to the cool glass, bright eyes surveying her neighborhood dominion as she carefully perched on the radiator cover. She excitedly waves at neighbors coming into view, talking and gesturing. At times she stands and counts, slowly spinning in circles - dancing, giggling. And still other times, a notebook and pencil are dragged up there to doodle and draw.
This mom has moved the aloe and snake plants over a bit, and shifted the books and solar spinning globe to safer radiator spaces. The aesthetic is a bit skewed now, but no Humpty Dumpty fairy tales do we want written in our book and the plants are still healthy and sipping sunlight. The mom is patient with her daughter’s exploring.
It doesn’t seem like that long ago, another girl grabbed endless books and sat up in the thick stone window sill, looking out over her woodland domain and waving at her father gathering wood down below. She read and imagined and dreamed there, escaping the overwhelming noise for retreat into her mind.
That mom sewed up some Mary Engelbreit fabric pillow cushions for her daughter’s window seat. The black background and colorful figures on the fabric then are much like the tablecloth adorning her daughter’s table now. The mom was patient with the daughter’s whims.
There is a gift of getting to look outside at the world from inside a cozy home: The assurance of a safe home base when exploring. Learning how to observe and interact, and then doing so.
I've mostly moved past window seat sitting, my home is now my kingdom. My girl scampers up in the window now. At less than a year-and-a-half old, she is figuring it out. She’s slipped off and towards the floor a few times, as risks have their consequences, but a giant bean bag catches her and Mama’s kisses dry the tears. The falls haven’t stopped her from eagerly climbing back up throughout the day. It doesn’t matter how many toys are on the floor, wonder and curiosity are sparking in her mind like the sunlight’s glint on the glass windows.
When I caught the vision as a mom, due in no small part to my mom’s example, then the God-given offering of being able to facilitate curiosity, risk-taking, problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity was illuminated in my heart. This precious endowment is even more dizzying than looking out a skyscraper window to the ground below. To be responsible for not only keeping a child protected and alive but to also nurture their mind, body, and spirit to life? It is a scary task some days when we know the monsters lurking outside of our windows and in the world. Yet, if light dispels darkness and what we create in the home shines out of our home, then you better believe I want to immerse our home in the sunlight shining in and the originality of the divine Creator flowing out.
Some may romanticize the castles and towers of princesses and fairy tales, but for me, I’ll put my wax seal on the value of creating window seats and raising inquisitive kids!
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