Magical moment 151, "Sweet Secret Moment"

Some of the best moments are the ones accidentally seen. I was the only person in the world to witness this one.

A mother was trying desperately to entertain her young toddler and distract him from the heat as they waited outside for the fireworks show to begin. She sang to him, played games, and did everything in her power to get him to interact with her, and distract him from the excruciating boredom and fatigue. The little boy was only about a year old, with wide, brown eyes, and black eyelashes that reached up to his thick eyebrows. He didn’t speak. He only stared at his mother with a questioning look on his small, round face.

“Donde esta Ricardo?” His mother asked in a high pitched, playful voice. “Where is he? Donde esta Ricardo?” Still, the boy showed no sign of interest in the game. She persisted however, coaxing him to play along. “Donde esta Ricardo?” Eventually, the mother gave up on the one-sided game and with a shrug of her shoulders, she turned around to tend to her older children who were arguing over potato chips.

As soon as her back was turned, I saw little Ricardo tentatively reach up with his small hands and put them over his eyes. He mischievously smiled, peeked through a little crack in his fingers, and then jerked them back down to his side as if to say, “Peek-a-boo! Here I am!” But his mother did not see. He was too late. He tried once more, but now his mother was preoccupied. He didn’t seem to mind though. As he turned away from his mother, I caught his gaze and smiled at him. He smiled back, then bashfully looked away. What a sweet, secret moment.

Comments

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-

Search This Blog