Coming from a different perspective

Sometimes the normal, mundane articles and experiences in life become completely transformed when seen through other’s eyes.

My 8-year-old nephew Drew came over last Wednesday and asked with a wry smile, “Can I write ‘16’ on the back of Uncle Steve’s truck?”

Trying to quickly decipher what in the blazes was churning through his witty little 8-year-old mind, I gave up and bluntly asked, “What?”

“Can I write ‘equals 16’ on your truck,” he questioned, as his eyes briefly met mine and I noticed his notorious half-smile.

It took me more than a minute to remember our Ford is a 4×4, and Drew has obviously been memorizing his multiplication tables.

This took me back about 16 years when I stopped at a Shell Gas Station on the way home from picking up the Phoebe from school. She may have been in second or third grade, but as I pulled up to the curb Phoebe sweetly and excitedly exclaimed, “Well, that’s very nice.”

I curiously answered, “What’s that?”

Sitting up in her seat with her blonde pigtails bobbing, she pointed joyfully at the metal shelved bin of grill propane tanks, “They have gas just for girls.”

When you’re learning to read, grill and girl can look quite similar.

When the weather was in the mid-40’s this week, I took advantage of it by picking up the sticks in the yard as the sun set. Usually just after dark I have a hobby/habit of shining a spotlight out my office window toward our south fence line to look for animals. I have seen ground hogs, coyotes, rabbit, owls and recently, a few small bucks feeding nearby. You can spot the deer as they raise their heads from feeding and their eyes reflect the spotlight. They pretty much just ignore me now.

As night fell quickly as I finished picking up sticks, I noticed it had gotten pitch black outside and my office window light was on. I could see exactly what the deer see when they’re feeding quietly in the dark just 50 feet from my office window — me, sometimes at my desk, but most times gazing out the window in search of a different perspective.