Sharing the adventure, being a partner in discovering the world, feeling the excitement when the fish stirs beneath the water – the joy and wonder are mine, too, because we are connected.

We are connected by experience together, the shared looks and little acts of attunement. I step up to help or protect and she answers with confidence, love, or protest, and the dialogue continues.

She is on the ground observing an inchworm and I sit with her. Afterward, she climbs the boulders while holding my hand, and so I am the scaffolding that keeps her upright, her partner again.

Fearlessly pushing her coordination and balance to the limit,  she has that smile that says, “I got this,” and she does for a while. When she falls, I comfort her, safe harbor and a little repair and back out again.

Words and roles change, the scaffolding takes other forms at different ages. But shared looks, partnership, those little acts of attunement, with understanding and empathy – that’s always how love works.