The little goose families have begun to wander farther from our yard.
Instead of spending most of their day around the puddle, they now make regular trips to the empty lot next door. The parents confidently lead their growing youngsters across the street, paying little attention to impatient drivers who announce their presence with a honk. The geese continue at their own pace, as if reminding everyone that not everything in nature operates on our schedule.
I’ve learned that this is usually the beginning of another season.
From past years, these changes have often come just before the young geese begin learning to fly. Maybe they’ve already been practicing somewhere beyond my view, and I’m only noticing because their world is expanding. Or maybe this is simply the next lesson parents have always known to teach.
Soon, I’ll find myself looking up more often than out across the water.
The puddle has been their nursery. The empty lot becomes a gathering place where they stretch out in the sun, rest together, and prepare for whatever comes next. Before long, the sky will become part of their classroom too.
Watching them reminds me that growth often begins with small changes in routine. We don’t always recognize a milestone while we’re living it. Sometimes we only notice because someone, or something, we’ve come to know starts wandering a little farther from home.
And somehow, that feels exactly as it should.
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