Childlike Wonder is not for just children
Out the window, the gray winter sky pulled me into some kind of dreamy mood. I sat on the floor building a good warm fire in the stove, but my eyes held in some imaginary hold, fixed on the bands of winter grays that filled the morning sky
The Osage orange tree, wild and unruly held a nest I had not seen before, somehow it was never noticed in my busy-ness. And, there way up at the top of the tree a ball of mistletoe is growing, I wonder if it has berries right now. I decide to check it out later in the day when its not so cold.
The kerosene lamp still flickers even though its not really needed for light, the leftover darkness of night is long gone, but it looks pretty in the window still, golden and homey.
Now, here at the computer I think about how silly Emery and I were last night, as if we reached up into the air and grasped hold of innocent childlike fun once again. A flashlight under the covers, funny faces, too many laughs to even think of a ghost story to tell. Silly jokes, and lots of laughter, it felt as though I should hear my mother telling me to stop playing and go to sleep, but there we were the adults, free and childlike with no one but ourselves to set the time for sleep. Shadows danced on the walls and ceiling. The polar bears on our red flannel sheets, glowing when the light was held up to them. It made us laugh loud and full. This new flashlight, a Christmas gift from a dear friend. No batteries, you wind it up, she said it was going to be perfect for our hiking trips and it will be, but I bet she never expected it to be used to make imaginary planets dance on the ceiling or polar bear sheets glow. We have glow in the dark stars all over our bedroom ceiling. I put them there just for us, we always go to sleep under glowing stars, even the big dipper.
Playing with innocent joy once in a while is good for your health. It makes you feel alive. When we have small children we get to play all over again, but with a different purpose. We might be motivated to just entertain our children and in the process have a fleeting moment where we once again feel carefree, its a moment we breath in and wish we could hold our breath for a bit longer, holding this momentary joy a bit longer. Once our children grow past the time of constant play, we grow stodgy...I have not used that word in ages. It's meaning is something we should never strive for "Dull, unimaginative, and commonplace. b. Prim or pompous; stuffy:"
But as in all things, balance. You can't be a normal functioning adult and play all the time. I think we all know of a few people that are like that and they are come off as being a bit irresponsible, besides, its more fun when this kind of childlike play is special, not ordinary.
Finally, we both grew sleepy and I handed my flashlight over to Emery to put on the nightstand, a kiss, a hug, then I think the sandman being confused by our giggles and shadow puppets, came to visit us. For we were sound asleep in less than a minute. Jack Frost came by too, and left scenes of winter wonder on our window panes.
Embrace childlike wonder, all your life...it is the very window in which we see how miraculous and joyful life is.
The Osage orange tree, wild and unruly held a nest I had not seen before, somehow it was never noticed in my busy-ness. And, there way up at the top of the tree a ball of mistletoe is growing, I wonder if it has berries right now. I decide to check it out later in the day when its not so cold.The kerosene lamp still flickers even though its not really needed for light, the leftover darkness of night is long gone, but it looks pretty in the window still, golden and homey. The mug next to me contains hot water with the juice of one lemon, its bitterness not harsh but enjoyable, I wonder if its because it has been my morning drink so many times. Fitting in so well as part of this wintry day.
Now, here at the computer I think about how silly Emery and I were last night, as if we reached up into the air and grasped hold of innocent childlike fun once again. A flashlight under the covers, funny faces, too many laughs to even think of a ghost story to tell. Silly jokes, and lots of laughter, it felt as though I should hear my mother telling me to stop playing and go to sleep, but there we were the adults, free and childlike with no one but ourselves to set the time for sleep. Shadows danced on the walls and ceiling. The polar bears on our red flannel sheets, glowing when the light was held up to them. It made us laugh loud and full. This new flashlight, a Christmas gift from a dear friend. No batteries, you wind it up, she said it was going to be perfect for our hiking trips and it will be, but I bet she never expected it to be used to make imaginary planets dance on the ceiling or polar bear sheets glow. We have glow in the dark stars all over our bedroom ceiling. I put them there just for us, we always go to sleep under glowing stars, even the big dipper.
Playing with innocent joy once in a while is good for your health. It makes you feel alive. When we have small children we get to play all over again, but with a different purpose. We might be motivated to just entertain our children and in the process have a fleeting moment where we once again feel carefree, its a moment we breath in and wish we could hold our breath for a bit longer, holding this momentary joy a bit longer. Once our children grow past the time of constant play, we grow stodgy...I have not used that word in ages. It's meaning is something we should never strive for "Dull, unimaginative, and commonplace. b. Prim or pompous; stuffy:"
But as in all things, balance. You can't be a normal functioning adult and play all the time. I think we all know of a few people that are like that and they are come off as being a bit irresponsible, besides, its more fun when this kind of childlike play is special, not ordinary.
Finally, we both grew sleepy and I handed my flashlight over to Emery to put on the nightstand, a kiss, a hug, then I think the sandman being confused by our giggles and shadow puppets, came to visit us. For we were sound asleep in less than a minute. Jack Frost came by too, and left scenes of winter wonder on our window panes.
Embrace childlike wonder, all your life...it is the very window in which we see how miraculous and joyful life is.
It was dark enough this morning that I could recreate our silly-ness
Mood of the Day....
Wool socks
Thermal shirt
Incense burning
Loreena McKennitt's "An Ancient Muse" playing in the background, but not softly !
Comments
Two things that strike me as even funnier about this are 1)My dh is a tough, hardened military man
(24+ years) but you wouldn't know it at these moments and 2) our daughters scold us and tell us to go to sleep or stop fooling around and grow up, etc. *LOL* I'm glad
we don't listen!
Isn't it a JOY and blessing to be married to your best friend? *sigh*
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MamaBugs