We don't bring children into the world to teach them; they come into the world to teach us. I met a pair of 2-year-old teachers the other night while waiting for a seat at the Olive Garden. They may have been young and oblivious to their class of amused students, but I heard their lesson loud and clear.
When I first entered the restaurant, there were several families gathered in the lobby ahead of me, all waiting their turn to be seated. With very little to do except wait, a number of adults and teens had their cell phones at the ready, thumbs dancing across numeric keypads, mini-keyboards, and touchscreens.
In the midst of this, a 2-year-old boy waddled away from his parents and towards another family, who had a 2-year-old girl with them. He took her by the hands, babbled something incoherent, and then the two of them began giggling and dancing together! (Undescribably adorable.)
His mom quickly noticed and moved swiftly to pick up her son and take him back to the opposite end of the lobby, apologizing to the other family. Things were back to normal.
Except the little girl followed them both, took him by the hands, and then they resumed their dancing in the lobby, much to the amusement of everyone.
The hostesses, waitresses, and all of the families in the lobby couldn't help but smile, laugh, and talk about how cute those two looked together! The conversations lasted well beyond the lobby, because the families decided to request adjacent tables so their children could be close by, and everyone in the lobby continued to chat about what a beautiful moment they had just witnessed.
Leave it to a pair of toddlers to teach a roomful of adults to reach out and have a friendly conversation with one another. I will do my best to honor their teachings.
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