Take One Giggle and a Pail of Water
“If we could learn from children, it would be to enjoy silly joys at silly things.” Anonymous
When was the last time you put down your sense of how adults must, should, would behave and became a child for a moment, an hour, a day?
I remember one day in Annapolis, Maryland when my child pushed me backward into childhood with some balloons and a pail of water. My son was eight; he and a friend decided to water our huge vegetable garden with pail water. At the same time, I was blowing up balloons for a party planned for that evening. Christian eyed the balloons and begged, “Please, mom, can we just fill a couple with water and play water balloon outside?”
What harm could it do? The day was sunny and hot. I handed him a handful of round bright colored balloons. The two boys went into the yard. Soon they were mysteriously quiet – the kind of “u-oh, what’s going on out there” quiet that sends messages to Moms everywhere.
I opened the back door, stepped down the three steps to the garden and pow! Water balloons hit me full force and spattered water all over me. The boys had built a little fort with garden chairs; they were Spartacus and I was the enemy! They burst into shouts and laughter.
“Mom, duck next time! Watch out, Billy has another balloon! Duck, Mom!” Standing there in my shorts with a handful of balloons, I started giggling. I ran for the bucket and grabbed one of the balloons and threw! It hit my son in the chest. The red balloon burst; water flew everywhere. Minutes later, we had filled a dozen balloons, scratched a start line in the dirt and water balloons flew at both “teams.” I was the one woman team. The boys “won.”
I may always remember the measles days but I will always cherish the balloon days.
Meditation for the Day
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” Book of Proverbs
Action for the Day
Today, I will step back a bit in my childhood. Did I love marbles? Did I play jacks? Did I jump rope? Today, I’ll take a short break from being an adult and be an adult who knows how to play like a child. I won’t compete; I won’t make wagers; I’ll just play.
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