Sitting by myself on a bench at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, a little girl suddenly ran over and tried to hoist herself up next to me. When the mother came over and asked her to say hello, I learned that the little blonde, blue eyed adventurer's name was, Claire.
My favorite part of the Claire experience was when she climbed down and came to the other side of me and then proceeded to explore the texture of the arm of the bench. Running her hands over it a few times, I asked her what she thought of it. She said it was smooth and long and she wanted to climb it. Hearing this, her mom, now sitting next to me where Miss Claire had been minutes before, called out, "If you need any help from me, just let me know." And two seconds later, Claire did just that. I loved how her mom allowed her to explore and at the same time reminded Claire she was close by and ready to help if she requested it.
As Claire was very comfortable being physically up close and personal, her mom suggested climbing the arm of the bench closest to where she was sitting.
She carried and arranged Claire according to her wishes, and then they sat for a few minutes-- Claire on the arm, Mom on the bench. I learned as mom disclosed to Claire that she had a Simon & Garfunkel song stuck in her head the same way Claire sometimes had Itsy Bitsy Spider stuck in hers. When Claire started sucking on her thumb, her mom suggested to her that it appeared she was tired and fighting a nap. She asked her if she wanted to be placed in the stroller. Claire immediately took her thumb out of her mouth and responded with a very clear, "No!" But a minute later she decided she wanted to lie down.
Well according to mom, she could only do that in the stroller, and so, as she was being secured, Claire began to cry. Her mom promised she'd push her around for bit before heading home, and then told me Claire was overdue for a nap.
And so I waved goodbye to mother and daughter, and thanked them for the delightful interaction.