Crunching leaves and an old dog's sense of wonder
The other day I got a tiny glimpse of one of the really amazing things I think parents must experience. My elderly dog Felix discovered the joy of walking through knee-deep (on him) crunching leaves. I don't know why they've never enchanted him like this before, but they haven't. Not like this. And I had this sudden rebirth in myself of the joy of the crunching sound and the feel of that crunching under my feet, and the raspy brushing against my legs. It was a magical moment, to be honest. It occurred to me later that I'll bet parents of young children get to experience that - get to see with a renewed sense of wonder things they've forgotten to marvel at. The fact that an old dog, grumpy, at least half-deaf, whose spine is failing him and causing his back legs to betray him more often than they obey, was the one who brought this little miracle to me is maybe the most heart-breakingly beautiful part about it.