Day 11: Slice of Life Challenge “Joy like a Child”

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Today, I got the joy of going to our good friend’s two year old’s birthday party. As soon as we walked in the door, we were greeted with screaming, running, laughing, off-the-wall children having the time of their life.

We were talking with our friends, and I noticed that they seemed to apologize for a lot: that the food wasn’t completely ready, that there wasn’t a ton of space or seats, that they didn’t serve drinks quickly enough, that there wasn’t enough for the children to do, and it goes on.

As adults, I think we can focus on so many things that a child doesn’t even think about. From my friend’s view, there was a lot to fix. From the children’s view, there was nothing but joy. They thought nothing about the amount of space, or chairs, or food. They ate anything put in front of them, and what seemed like “only” five or six toys and a couple of Spiderman face masks, turned into role play, chasing each other, and sharing of toys and experiences. Everything was magical, fun, and all they truly cared about was being with each other.

I am convinced that the simplest things matter most. Adults think that kids may need a big house to grow up in, or a nice car to have some elbow room in, or the best toys on the market… I think many of us could continue the list of what we “think” we need to be good parents or good hosts, but truly, through the eyes of the child, an environment of love, community, safety, and room to be themselves is all that truly matters.

At the end, I watched two boys play with a broken slinky. I don’t even think they noticed it was broken, but watching them toss it back and forth to each other, only to then watch one of the boys have to leave the party and the other boy expressing how sad he was, only proves this point further: connection matters, even over as something as simple as a broken slinky.