I am grateful for giddy shrieks of delight.

I never really realized I was grateful for this oddity until a recent trip to a water fountain.  There were scores of kids playing in the water, while the adults sat and visited in quiet circles along the perimeter.  The kids were laughing and having a great time.  The adults were slathering sunscreen and distributing yellow goldfish.  Then the music started.  The water came with greater intensity and dancing rhythm.  As the various geysers gained height, so rose the energy of the plaza.  All the children were screaming. Yes, screaming.  And yet it was a good thing.  The shrieks became a chorus.  A choir shaped from kids being blinded from any worry or concern by blasts of water that both refreshed and startled.

Yummy.

I have since wondered what series of events can trigger this giddy shrieking.  In children, I see it around water.  I have seen it in a Disneyland commercial. I have seen it with a friend when the first Cadbury eggs of the season are presented.  I have come to the conclusion that in order for this phenomenon to take place there must be some element of surprise, but this surprise must be pleasing.  A splash of water in the winter causes a much different type of screaming. 

I have also noticed that babies participate in this type of vocalization much more than children, and children much more than adults.  As we age, the giddiness seems to dissipate.  I suppose as we experience more, it takes more to surprise and delight us.  It’s no wonder that an animated face saying “peek-a-boo” doesn’t send middle-aged folk into a frenzy.  But there is a secret for us experienced riders: there is nothing more joyful then being the source of someone’s giddy shrieking.  So take the time to raspberry a baby’s belly (preferably a baby you know).  Play in the hose with the kids.  And every once in a while when something wonderful shocks you, don’t hold back the scream with adult composure...just shriek.

I am thankful for small amusements.

I am thankful for small amusements.  Those moments where you catch yourself smiling because something random or entertaining has come your way.  Your child mispronouncing a word, the driver putting on mascara with all the facial contortions in the car next to you, hearing any song by Milli Vanilli or Rick Springfield. These entertaining gems are most often not even granted the credibility of a comment.  They happen at the grocery store, or in the car, and by the time you get home you have forgotten they even transpired.  No one knows they existed. Not even you.  They are a lonely M&M found when your child hands you their wrapper: not anticipated, happily consumed, then sadly gone. Well, I have been paying attention to those flashes of funny the past few days, and they come around more often than you think. Do you have any you would like to share?

I am Grateful for Evening Light

I am grateful for evening light.  No wonder this is the best time to take pictures.  There is something calming about the shadows getting long, ebbing their way across my street.  I love the bright orange glow reflecting off my neighbors’ houses as if they were capturing the sun in a copper bucket. 

Although this light is available daily (at least when it is not raining!), it doesn’t last long. A lot of life is like this: readily available, yet strangely elusive. 

It is during this time the wind eases and line definition becomes softer in the setting sun.  With the sharp contrast of noon gone, the world looks diffused, imperfections are muted and people even appear younger. Maybe this is why it is my favorite time of day!  Mostly, I appreciate how this evening light makes me feel.  I have found that as the mountains shine with amber, my soul fills with peace the same way fresh baked bread satiates and warms my belly. 

Now I’m hungry. :)

Not feeling it.

I'm tired.  Everyone at my house is tired.  It feels like we are constantly burning the candle at both ends.  I'm sick of crappy weather. I want to move to Maui. Great post for my gratitude journal, huh.  Well, I'm not feeling too grateful.  That's right.  I have a perfectly good life and I'm still frustrated, tired, and ungrateful.  I'll probably be struck by lightning. So take that world, my second post of my gratitude blog and I already struck out. So typical.

I am Grateful for Good Examples

 I am surrounded by good people and always have been. In every chapter of my life I have had people that I looked up to and wanted to be like.

My Gratitude Blog

After several weeks of feeling sorry for myself I decided that I would enter the world of blogging.  At first I thought it would be a public forum where I would be witty, make reference to my workouts, and chronicle my wonderful parenting moments.  It would be the place where I could show the world my perfect self, the me I wish I was, the me that has it all together.  Then I realized something: I don't have it all together.  Even if I was to piece together the various portions of my life to create something you would all be jealous of, I would be desperately short on material.  I lamented for several days that I didn't have anything that would make you all wish to be me.  I considered lying.  Then I realized what an ungrateful twit I was being...so instead I am making a gratitude blog.  My hope is that this will be a therapeutic outlet for me and a happy place for you to visit. :)