March 25th

Today I'm grateful for children in my life.

To watch a tiny child discover the world through his hands and mouth.

To see, hear and feel the utter joy ripple through the bodies of three wee ones as a balloon is deflated, blown up, then deflated again and again, and again.

To silently admire the generosity of a small child sharing his most precious toy with his friends.

To feel at a heart level all over again the total despair when time spent with a coveted item is up and must be passed unwillingly to another's patiently waiting hands.

To acknowledge the quiet, silent child, sitting back, watching thoughtfully... allowing me to appreciate that even as children, human beings are so uniquely different.

I am blessed to be surrounded by many children in my weekly world - most under the age of five years old.  Their world is so authentic, so potent, so raw.  All emotions are experienced at the extreme ends of the spectrum - pure, unadulterated joy and heart-wrenching despair.  There is never any middle ground.

You always know where you stand with a four year old.  And I quite like that!  If you accidentally break their heart by emptying their 4 hour old glass of soda water without checking with them, you'll hear about it!  But they are so generous and instantaneous in their forgiveness - so long as you're fully present in hearing their lament and genuine in your apology (they'll see right through you if you're not and will continue to tell you about it until they feel heard!).

My current most favourite thing about having children in my life?

Watching them create.