Everyone spends a significant amount of time chasing after
something. Examples like the perfect job, money, fame, love, or tacos come to
mind. Ok, probably not tacos. Ok, maybe tacos; you never really know what
people are chasing after. As for me, I'm somewhat akin to the greyhound at a
dog track chasing the mechanical rabbit as fast as he can. I'm sure you can
guess this, but in this hypothetical scenario, I'm the greyhound and Ellie is
the mechanical rabbit.
Now, while it's fairly obvious that I spend a decent
percentage of my day chasing Ellie around, you may wonder what exactly Ellie is
chasing while I'm chasing her. Honestly, it can be any number of things. I've
seen her desperately chase after food (i.e. snacks). It's fairly normal for her
to chase after her toys after she tosses them. It's even pretty likely for her
to excitedly run towards any animal she sees. For the record, based upon our
most recent trip to Cabela's, it doesn't matter if they're living or dead.
Today, though, Ellie discovered something new that requires
her full attention in seeking out. While I could just say what it is, it's
slightly more fun to me to make people guess. So, courtesy of Google, here's a
riddle for you.
 |
| Now that I'm an adult, I realize just how creepy Jim Carrey looks in this scene. |
Only one color,
but not one size.
Stuck at the
bottom, yet easily flies.
Present in sun,
but not in rain.
Doing no harm, and
feeling no pain.
Any ideas? I can wait a moment while you think about it. Ok,
that's probably long enough. The answer that you're looking for is your shadow.
That's right, Ellie discovered her shadow today and is now determined to catch
it at all costs.
It's no controversial statement for me to refer to this
afternoon as a beautiful afternoon. With the sun shining and the temperature
residing in the mid-50s, I was bound and determined to take advantage of it.
Therefore, after Ellie and I returned home from a quick Sam's Club run for a
few essentials, I quickly unloaded our groceries. Once that was done, I
extricated Ellie from her car seat and headed outside with her in my arms.
Initially, we were both more than content to just play in
the driveway. However, it didn't take Ellie long to tire of that and seek
further adventure. While her adventure bug was briefly satisfied by a short
trip to the mailbox, that ultimately wasn't what she was looking for. Before
long, we found ourselves wandering up and down our street with me leading the
way and Ellie toddling along behind. As we walked, Ellie and I spotted our octogenarian
neighbor, Roy, waving at us so we wandered over accordingly to catch up.
As Roy and I engaged in conversation, Ellie, according to
form, quickly became bored with just standing there in Roy's driveway.
Therefore, she began to check out everything around her. It didn't take long
before she looked down at the ground and noticed a dark mark on the pavement.
As she knelt down to rub the spot, imagine her surprise when said spot moved
just as she did.
It was then that she really began testing the spot through
any means necessary. When Ellie would move an arm, the spot would move. When
she'd move a leg, the spot would move. Finally, Ellie resorted to attempting to
chase and catch the spot. I'm sad to say that she never did catch the spot.
However, she did catch something arguably greater. The understanding of the
sun's role in casting a shadow off of our body that will inevitably mimic each
and every move we make. Even Roy was commenting on Ellie's enjoyment of her
shadow during our conversation.
Before long, our conversation ended and Ellie and I headed
back home to call it an afternoon. Of course, on the way, Ellie did have to
make one last ditch effort to catch her shadow. Unfortunately for her, that
effort was met with failure once again.
This is where you should have one of two reactions.
"Aww, that's so sweet" is always acceptable. The alternative is
"Stupid baby, you'll never catch your shadow." I'm honestly going to
leave the decision on reaction up to you.
Although, I do find the first one to be preferable...#DaddyWrite
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