Stop and Watch the Pinwheel

Pinwheel, pinwheel, spinning around. Look at my Pinwheel and see what I’ve found.
Pinwheel, pinwheel, where have you been? Hello, how are you, and may I come in?
Pinwheel, pinwheel spinning around. Look at my Pinwheel and see what I found.
Pinwheel, pinwheel, breezy and bright. Spin me good morning, spin me good night.
— Pinwheel theme, Classic Nick

Photo Credits: 1. Happy Rainbow Flower Pinwheel on Deep Blue Sky, 2. Day 45 – Pinwheel, 3. happy pinwheel, 4. phone pinwheel, 5. Pinwheel, 6. Breath, 7. Purple Pinwheel, 8. pinwheel, pinwheel, 9. Rainbow Zoe, 10. Pinwheel, 11. Shapes: Pinwheel, 12. assaulted pinwheel, 13. Molinillo / Pinwheel, 14. Cata-vento (pinwheel), 15. Garden Ornament at Night, 16. 川越_涼015

There’s a pinwheel by the kitchen window. Every time it spins, the baby stops whatever he’s doing and gazes at it. The spoonful of cereal stops in mid-air, the crowd he was entertaining pauses. Once the pinwheel stops turning, he turns back to us and eats his cereal.

You know the saying “stop and smell the flowers?” In the baby’s case, it’s “stop and watch the pinwheel.” When the pinwheel isn’t spinning, he gazes at it too. He grunts several times, as if saying “Spin pinwheel spin!” Then the wind comes, as if hearing him, and the baby becomes delightfully entranced by the spinning pinwheel.

Maybe I should take a note from my baby and put a pinwheel on my office desk. I don’t have a window though, so there wouldn’t be wind. A static pinwheel, though pretty, would seem sad. Positioning an electric fan just to make it spin would be even more sad!

It’s a treat watching Timmy get dazzled by the rainbow of colors spinning round and round. The spinning doesn’t happen often, so when the pinwheel does its dance he gives it his full attention.

I find myself gazing at the spinning colors along with my baby, wishing there were more moments like this, cherishing these curious, childlike moments that are flying way too fast.

Hi! I'm Toni Tiu, and I've been blogging at at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.