Gift

A couple months ago I happened across a really great article in The Cut (of all places!) singing the praises of parenthood.  It was a bit unexpected, because more and more I keep hearing people proudly declaring themselves "childfree."  And, as you can imagine, I have very mixed feelings about that.  

I mean.  It's your life and you get to decide what you want to do with it.  So it's not any of my business if people choose to not procreate.  But.  I find so much joy in my children and I worry that young people are making HUGE decisions like this based on extremely faulty information (ie, the griping that parents like to do).  That article, reiterating that joy and giving a pretty good explanation of why parenting doesn't seem like much fun from the outside really nailed it.  I hope more people read it and that it gives them something to really think about.

All this to say-- I had a perfect example of this on Friday morning. 

Colton had an early doctor's appointment, so it was just Camille and me walking to the bus stop together, an extremely rare occurrence.  We've been having the chilliest spring I can remember, with it only being 47 degrees outside that morning!  IN LATE MAY.  We watched a squirrel standing like a statue on the edge of the pavement, before it went hopping across the grass in that way you really only ever see in squirrels, with their tails flying behind them in perfectly echoing arcs.  Camille said to me, "I understand why squirrels like to hop everywhere, because sometimes the grass is wet."  She paused thoughtfully and then continued, "Plus, that way they can go, Yippee yippee yippee every time they hop!"

And now I will never watch a squirrel without assuming it's thinking, Yippee yippee yippee! with every hop it takes.  

And now you, too, can share in that mental image.

What a gift.

You're welcome.

Camille from our 2016 trip to Disney World...