Tao of 3

Your best friend coming home from Holland is happiness.

Stopping to examine the cement (or is it concrete Dana?) around the fence post on the way into the pool is happiness.

Eating vegetables is NOT happiness.

Sharing with Adwen Kate is NOT happiness, unless its sharing Adwen Kate's toys, which IS happiness.

School is happiness.

Playing in the sandbox, happiness.

Picking up my toys, NOT happiness.

Turning on my listening ears at school, NOT happiness.

I have learned a lot from my daughters. Yesterday I learned a lesson, that Elspeth has taught before and will have to teach me again. I get caught up in what we are going to do, and I expect her to be as excited as I am. We took her to her favorite pool yesterday, and she was thrilled that we got to go. On the way over to the "big pool" Elspeth stopped, got down and started poking at the base of the fence post. I got irritated, she was delaying us from where we were going, didn't she want to get to the Big Pool?!?

Then it clicked.

Again.

For her it is not about where we are going, it is about where we are. If something looks interesting, stop and explore it. I get so caught up in what I think should be fun for my kids, I forget to let my kids have fun. So we stopped and poked at the base of the fence post. It was hard, but it strangely looked like it wouldn't be. It was interesting for someone who finds life interesting.

It was fun, for someone who knows that "fun" is to great to be contained by my definition of "fun." And that if fun could be defined so narrowly as I try to define it, that it would cease to be fun (ok, this is horrible paraphrasing and my apologies to anyone who actually studies any eastern philosophy at all).

Essentially, the tao of fun as taught by my 3 year old. Let go Mom, and enjoy the moment. I wonder when she will be able to stop teaching me this lesson.