Oh, the beauty of children....
Tonight, while grabbing a meal at a local sandwich shop, I observed a sweet little boy seated at a table directly by ours. He and his mother had entered the shop after his father (who was already seated when he came in), and when he saw him, he rushed forward excitedly and hopped into their booth! Unfortunately, the little boy's father was too intent on staring at his phone to notice him. He barely acknowledged his wife, who came over to inquire about ordering their meal, and he certainly was ignoring their son. It was troubling, to say the least.
But...the little boy...undeterred by a silly iPhone...slipped out of his seat and moved around their table toward his father's spot in their booth. (Getting no reaction from his dad.) Undeterred still, he slipped closer. (Again, getting no reaction.) Finally...this determined, precious, beautiful boy (whose father was behaving more like a child than he was, ignoring his family and petulantly attaching himself to a tiny screen) leaned in closer and closer and closer...
...until their faces were practically touching
...until he knocked his father's ball cap askew
...until his father finally smiled at him--and even laughed a little.
Getting that smile and getting that giggle elicited a glow of joy so pure from that sweet boy's face that I felt joy, too. It reminded me about being present. It showed me how little we look---really look---at each other (because we're more comfortable really looking at hand-held screens).
Had I brought my phone to dinner tonight, I probably would've missed all of that.
Which made that sweet moment all the sweeter. If not for the dad, certainly for me.
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