I love watching how little kids move.  Small children almost never seem to just walk.  They run, skip, hop, meander, dance.  There is joy and celebration in their locomotion.  When I walk with my children there are twirls, balancing, silly walks, and pretend bicycles.  Watching them makes me smile.  Sometimes their careening around makes me anxious because of proximity to roads, other pedestrians, or mobility scooters that seem to suddenly appear, but I try not to curtail them too much.  I know that some day in the future they will walk instead of how they ambulate now.  I wonder if there is a precise moment in our development that we change the way we travel from one place to another.  Is it a natural progression or is it brought about by increased awareness of the scrutiny of others?  Is it because the destination becomes more important than the motion required to get there?   I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I do know that I will enjoy these moments as long as they last.  Maybe they will keep going puddle jumping with me, or I might have to wait until I can introduce a new generation to that joy.