Throwback Thursday :: Raising Leonardo da Vinci

Originally posted 4/3/12

When Griffin was a brand new baby
and I was a brand new mom,
my mother told me a story
about Leonardo da Vinci
that I have kept with me well into motherhood.

How he was an illegitimate child
that was not given the same privileges as his own father.
Yet as a child, he had an uncle named Francesco that took him in.

Together they explored the wild countryside.

Franceso fostered Leonardo's love for nature and animals.
They observed insects and explored the land.
They sprawled out in the grass
and created shapes out of the clouds.

Creativity was found in the world around them.

I can easily envision Leonardo as a child,
crouched down by a stream
and racing sticks in the water
that trickled between smooth rocks.

His nurturing uncle not far behind him,
encouraging him to try and grab a tiny fish.



I can't help but feel like Francesco
when I take my boys out to explore
the wild woods near our home.

We take them down a beautiful path
that I hope will lead them to their own greatness.

Where they stop and feel the grass beneath their heads
and find the dragon that floats across the sky.
They observe the wind that pushes the dragon in font of the sun
and unleashes the warmth that kisses their curious faces.

We are raising Leonardo da Vinci.