A field full of Wishes, ripe for the pickingBeing a parent has so many rewards - for all we put up with, they had better be pretty sweet! All joking aside, the latest thing I've been able to enjoy, is my rediscovered ability to view life through the eyes of my children. To be able to slow down, get down to their level and marvel at the simplicities of life. As we get older, we get so caught up in the rush of the every-day, that we forget and ignore...we take for granted, and brush aside the things that once amazed us. When I'm with my children, I see that they are exploring the world around us for the very first time - the simplest of things are mesmorizing, and so they should be! When is the last time you watched a flower grow from a seed, and contemplated how it grew so tall, and blossomed? Stopped to watch ants scurrying into their ant-hill? Watched your goldfish swim around, and around, admiring his shimmery scales, and wondered why he didn't have eyelashes? Wished on a star? Splashed in a puddle? Looked for shapes in the clouds? Hunted for raspberries? Wondered if faeries lived in that hole in your maple tree? Wished on a dandelion? Spent hours picking wildflowers? Since being a parent, I promise that I have taken full advantage of the opportunity to do all of these things, and then some. I know that I spent my childhood exploring in wonderment, but just like everyone else, got distracted by "life" as I grew older. I consider myself so incredibly lucky to be able to rediscover what "life" is really all about. Every day, my children discover something new and I get to be there right alongside them. But ladies and gentlemen, I will let you in on a little secret...you don't need to have children in your life, to reclaim your child-like wonder! Every day, whatever you are doing, stop - just STOP, and look around you! Let everything else disappear, if only for a few minutes. Look up, look waaaaaay up...does that cloud look like a bunny to you? I wonder if you could jump high enough to reach the branch of that tree...be careful though, you never know who may be living there! Pick a wildflower bouquet for your desk, wish on a star...what harm could it do? Slooooow down. Wonder why. It's okay if you can't find the answer.
