Day 360

Today I was fortunate enough to witness pure joy! Asher and I were out planting a few flowers when he asked if we could get the "Octopus Sprinkler" out. My first reaction was to tell him no, but then I thought, "Why not?" Being a grandma allows a person to ask that question over and over...much to the delight of the grandchildren!

We grabbed a pair of shorts, took off his shoes and socks and the fun began in earnest. Soon, Asher's buddies came over from across the street and we had a real gathering of neighbors! It was truly a joyful cerebration of the warmth of May!

Trying to remember back to the last time I had that feeling of incredible joy, I hit a roadblock. As I watched Asher and his friends running through the sprinkler, I honestly couldn't remember a recent time when I had such a joyous display! That started the wheels turning...

When we are young, it seems that new adventures and experiences go right to the heart! As an adult, I can still remember the heart-pounding excitement when we were in the midst of "childhood fun!" Jumping on a trampoline, going for a walk in the woods with the family, holidays, new penny loafers and so much more brought me incredible joy! It was all so new and not comparable to any other times.

Watching my Goldens, it seems to be the same thing. Gus and Sam are excited about EVERY LITTLE THING! A new toy, a peanut butter bone, a walk with Mama...anything is a joyous event for those boys who display their excitement with jumps, frantic tail wags and whimpers. Lilly and Ranger are more sedate in their responses. The tails wag and the eyes shine, but they don't have the joyous reaction that their little brothers seem to have.

Now that I am "older," I watch Asher and marvel at that joy. Of course, the grandma in me worries about him falling, getting sunburned and a host of other silly issues. It still delights me to see his joy and excitement with every new turn of life.

I finally concluded that, as we age and tuck all those new experiences away in our hearts, there are not too many surprises left. Also, with age comes wisdom (I hope) and we seem to ponder and quietly cherish events that might have had a more spontaneous response in the past. That is fine with me.

So, much like my elder Goldens, I enjoy watching exhibits of excitement and fun, but also savor my own moments of joy...however calm they may be. The joys that I embrace are felt deep down within the heart...which is a gift.

Conferring with Lilly and Ranger, we all admitted that we like our calmer reactions to the joys in life. We wouldn't have it any other way!