It's All In The Details

Ever been mildly shocked at learning something about someone that you never really knew until you were struck with a certain feeling of realization? Recently, this happened to me. I must admit it took me by surprise almost to the point of being without words for a moment. It started with a simple phone call.

Since my parents live about an hour and a half away and since we are unable to visit them frequently I make it a habit to call them at least three times a week. As they have grown older and a bit more feeble I feel these calls are also a way to gauge how they are feeling serving as a way for me to see if they need anything. My parents see my frequent calls as opportunities to talk to their granddaughter, Hannah. Hannah understands my ritual. She knows that certain evenings during the week I will call her grandparents. Sometimes, she wants to chat with them, sometimes not. Sometimes when she does she doesn’t quite know what to say since the phone already means something totally different to her generation than to my generation. Still, recently, she asked me when we were going to call Mammaw.

Now let me step back to provide a bit of background on where this story goes. A few months prior to this phone call, Hannah and I were home one afternoon. The weather forecast for the day included a chance of very severe thunderstorms. Most of the day though had been rain-free and storm-free until about three in the afternoon. Then, clouds filled the sky dimming the natural light outside. Thunder rumbled in the distance as the winds began to pick up velocity. I walked into our dining room to look outside the windows. I noticed

our deck table complete with a sun umbrella speared into it’s very center. The umbrella had proved to be a bit too heavy for the table previously as on more than one occasion, strong winds had tipped them both over. One time the wind had tossed the umbrella against one of the dining room windows. As the storm brewed I could hear rain beginning to fall and the wind howl. I realized though I needed to better secure the umbrella. I then stepped onto the deck to wrestle the umbrella from the table. At first I sat it on the desk trying to weigh it down with the patio chairs but that didn’t seem to work well as it still seemed like it might become a projectile if just the right gust swept under it. I determined I then needed to fold the umbrella up to set it inside the house. Part of the umbrella though didn’t want to collapse. As I struggled with it the rain grew heavier and the winds grew stiffer so I determined I had to get this umbrella inside our house one way or the other. And, so I did. When I did though I squeezed the umbrella to make it go through the door and small pieces of it began to fall to the floor. The storm would pass. I would later inspect the umbrella only to come to the realization that fixing it was quite unlikely. This meant at some point a new umbrella would need to be purchased for the deck table.

This brings us to the phone call Hannah and I had with her grandparents recently. The day before this phone call Hannah and I had purchased a new umbrella for the deck table. When we got home that night, just before dark, I pulled it out of it’s packaging so I could assemble it then place it in the table. At that point, I was able to fully visualize the color, texture, patterns and design of the umbrella as neither Hannah or I could quite do that from it’s packaging. On our phone call I mentioned how we had bought a new umbrella for the table. My mom asked Hannah the color of the umbrella. Hannah then provided her grandmother, and me, a very detailed description of the umbrella. She described the two shades of brown on it. She talked about the design pattern around the umbrella. The umbrella also has an image imprint that looks a good deal like a spade from a deck of cards although the design is a bit different. She called the design “hearts” and when I inspected the umbrella later I could see where she could visualize a heart from that design. She even mentioned to her grandmother how the umbrella had a small skirt near it’s top.

As Hannah described this umbrella I am sure my mouth popped open. I never suspected she had captured the detail she described in the little time she had observed it. I also never suspected she would describe those details in such an elaborate and eloquent way. After she finished it took me a second to say anything. I then told my mom that Hannah had just described the umbrella with much more detail than I could ever hope to do.

I am not sure right now what any of it means. It seems I spend much of my time with Hannah at her age discovering things I know well through her eyes. I must say this is one of the most remarkable and rewarding things I have ever experienced. This though is different. I am watching her take her own observations, filter them through her own experiences then turn it all into her own words. As I watch this with her Mom, as we watch her grow, we are often left, as we are now, without words when we realize the simple but sometimes complex details she brings into our lives.