I see trees of green

To tell you the truth, I have never been a fan of the song "What a Wonderful World."  I don't hate it, mind you. I would have at one time, perhaps, uncharitably described it as treacle, but that is only because my stone-cold heart  is uncomfortable with basic human sincerity. Perhaps because of this earnestness, Henry loves it. I had been catching snippets from time to time, he would sing just a quick phrase out of context "red roses too... " or "... the colors of the rainbow so pretty..." and I would think to myself,  what is that from? That sounds so familiar!  The other morning as I was dropping him off in his classroom, all of the children were quietly, happily, and cooperatively working on activities in small groups. Henry joined one group right away. I allowed myself an extra moment to just take in that scene alone - perfect, progressive old Italian educator - inspired preschool at work. Then, something extraordinary happened. Music was playing in the classroom and the song "What a Wonderful World" began. Suddenly, I noticed all of the children gently swaying and singing softly to themselves. They all knew the song (clearly a classroom favorite), and everything seemed so calm and peaceful and everyone seemed so kind to one another.

So now, dammit, not only do I kind of love the song, it even prompts an emotional response (I know, I know) because for now on, every time I hear "What a Wonderful World", I will remember Henry as a three year old wearing his Spider Man t-shirt singing softly along with his friends.