Two Little Green Apples

Pondering our Thanksgiving dinner with four generations together, I felt so grateful and so look forward to it. Shopping for holiday groceries is a small challenge for me. I had a shopping list to begin with, but the list seems to get longer every day. Thought I have prepared everything to make apple pies, but I did not remember to include Granny Smith apples. Not my favorite apples, but Granny Smith apples remind me of the ‘two little green apples’ that I am writing here…

I was on a mission to chaperone two 4 years old kids,  my grandson and his cousin,  at a park. They told me that they wanted to take me to a secret place. I followed them along for a while and we stopped in front of a fence. The next thing I noticed was, two kids were above the ground.  Without knowing what they were reaching out for, I snapped this picture that I have since loved.

It is the kind of picture that I saw in a storybook. The thought of it inspired me to turn all the pictures into a painterly look, or I would rather say, storybook-like.

At this point, I realized that they came here for the little green apples. These apples do not seem edible. They were not here for the fruit, but what then? I saw them showing and comparing the size of the apples. It appeared that my grandson has the bigger apple.  He proclaimed his victory while the cousin was frowning and yet not willing to give in…

We have been here for about an hour and I thought it was time to head home. We began to walk towards home. There must be communication going on between the two kids, they were suddenly kicking the apples on the ground. Park soccer, I see.

Fifteen minutes into kicking, they took a break on the grass and still held on to their apples. I was a bit tired myself, but my curiosity prevailed and I decided to give them more time. We walked by a creek, the kids paused for a second and rushed to the creekside. I saw them drop the apples into the creek and followed as the apples drifted away.  Another episode was just launched. I was awaiting the development…

Their ‘balls’ went on a long way before stuck on the muddy section of the creek.  Being the boy, he waded down the creek and forced the apples to go through. The apples broke the hindrance and flowed through. There were big smiles on their faces.  To my surprise, they did not pick up the apples there, instead, they walked to another end of the creek and waited there patiently.

Finally, the apples completed their journey and surfaced again. The cousins were cheering and the apples were back in their hands. It was 2-1/2 hours since our arrival. I wanted them to go home and they finally tossed the apples down the running stream and watched them quickly disappear.

I ask myself what will I do with two little green apples and I don’t have an immediate answer. I know I certainly won’t have fun with them for  2-1/2 hours.

Do you know what these two-four years old kids have inspired me? Be Content, Be Creative, Be Curious, Be Persistent and Be Resourceful.