I was doing something rather mundane the other day, running some kind of errand. I was just about to get into my car when suddenly I heard a distant disturbance in the quiet morning. I stopped and looked skyward. It was the distinctive honking of Canadian Geese growing louder as I assumed the gaggle flew closer overhead. But the air was foggy and I couldn’t see anything.

Then out of the mist I could see them. That familiar V-shape was directly over me. I stared as I watched them pass over me and to my surprise I think I was holding my breath. Even though I’ve seen them so many times over the years growing up in Vancouver, they were still a sight to behold. Then I was thinking to myself: when is the last time I saw a V of Canadian Geese? I remember as a child getting giddy at spotting them in my North Vancouver neighbourhood. It was a treat to be in their migration path, a passing troupe of large, honking birds on their way to somewhere sunnier and warmer, and knowing they would return one day. But when was the last time I really ‘saw’ them, and didn’t just shrug them off to the background of my busy life.

No, that day I watched them and wondered where they were returning from and what stories they would have. And it reminded me of being an 8 year-old girl again who sees beauty everywhere in nature. And I’m glad for that.