A few miles away from our home is the Odysea Aquarium. It is the perfect way to spend a day. If there is one thing I’ve learned in this parenting journey, it is to try and get one on one time with each kiddo.

Give them a chance to really feel seen and heard. Let them lead the discussions and ask the questions. I try my best to follow silently and let them be my tour guide for the day.

I have the hardest time with silence.

I feel the need to fill the silence with talking and comments. My Oregon friend and magical baker of pies, Keri, told me one time that the silence could be a friend to us all. It could keep us from gossiping or hurting one another if we could learn to live with it.

I have yet to master silence, because I enjoy conversation so much, but on days like this I practice counting to four before I say something, to give my dear thinking Riley a chance to share his thoughts before I bombard him with mine.

Spending time with Riley one on one is always a treat. I learn more in 10 minutes silence of with him than I do spending a whole day at home. I see what he is curious about and where he wants to linger.

On this day, he watched the stingrays swim for an hour. He practiced using two fingers to touch them over and over and made friends with one of them. It kept swimming up to him, letting him pet it. I sat on the bench and just watched as younger children carefully examined his technique to try and figure out why the stingrays were swimming over to him.

He is so patient with animals. I love watching him with dogs, especially. Long after other kids have lost interest, he is still following them and figuring them out.

I would have walked on and given up after five minutes, trying to make friends with the stingrays, but Riley was determined.

This is when I start to wonder if I am seeing a little glimpse into their future. Am I watching a vocation develop right before my eyes? Or am I just being taught life lessons by spending time with my little ones? Either way, it was a great day.