My mother loves to tell this story of me and her mother, and our neighbor's dog.
I longed for a dog, but for whatever reason, was not allowed one. Instead I walked every dog on my street,
Cindy, who lived next door, was your typical 90's mutt. A bit Lab, a bit Shepherd, surely some Terrier, and too many years of neglect before finding her forever, loving, home. Cindy was old and had calloused skin on her elbows and any area that a dog might experience wear. Cindy was always old, and I loved her.
During a visit from my mother's parents, I convinced my Grandmother, Gammy, to join me in visiting Cindy. I wanted her to meet the sweetest, most beautiful, adoringly cute dog I knew. Or maybe I wanted Cindy to meet Gammy.
After making it home from Cindy's house, my mother tells me, Gammy looked at her, knowingly, saying that I may need glasses. That dog was the ugliest dog she'd ever seen.
By this point, I'd worn glasses for years. My grandmother knew that nothing was wrong with my vision (that wasn't already being corrected) but, in her off-handed, New England way, was appreciating my failure to be affected by social and cultural standards of attraction. I was like her and my Grandfather in this way: Judging only myself, I loved, appreciated, and trusted others unconditionally.
I remember this feeling being one of reciprocity. Appreciation was, and still is, the greatest form of exchange. I feared losing the trust of others, but didn't fret over it. I trusted right back, and the exchange was noticed.
This is the way children are when given the gifts of space and support. They will see the soul of a person, of an animal, and of themselves.
The lines dividing the built, social, and natural environments are blurred for children. Children play in trees just as readily as on playgrounds and with each other. The beauty they see in a crunchy autumn leaf is equal to the pane-glass windows of a church, and present in these is the feeling of new and old friends, loving family members, and passing strangers.
We must remind ourselves that collaboration is key. Without the social and natural environments, there will be no one to bulid for. Without the Built environment, there will be no method to express our appreciation of the Natural environment, or support the ever-evolving Social.
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