The Magic Number

I was a baby

a long, long

time ago.

~ My niece, almost four

I had an a-ha moment a

few years ago when I was

lamenting how fast the 

summer had flown by.

Why, I thought, did the

summers of my childhood

seem to go on forever, but

as I got older they seemed

shorter and shorter?

Then it dawned on me.

A year to a two-year old

is half of her life.

A year to a ten-year old

is 1/10th of her life.

A year to a forty-year old

is 1/40th of her life.  

A teeny, tiny slice.

You see where this is going.

I just returned from a family

reunion where I was blessed

to spend time with my cousins

and their children.  In technical

terms, their kids are my first

cousins, once removed, meaning

that my grandparents were 

their great-grandparents.

The youngest two in attendance,

little girls ages just turned three

and almost four ~ who were

babies a long, long time ago ~

gave me some brush up lessons.

On living life.

Here are just a few of the

things that they taught me.

If a color makes you happy,

wear it every day.

Eat cupcakes with gusto.

When you love someone,

give spontaneous hugs.

Often.

Don't sit still.  Life means

moving all the time.

A huge belly laugh 

feels soooooo good.

Twirling is essential to 

an excellent day.

Bugs are very, very cool.

Being oldest and tallest

is best.  {Works for me : )}

Fancy shoes are not for

special occasions.  Every

day is a special occasion!

As we get older and our

baby days truly are a long,

long time ago, it's easy to

become immune to the simple

pleasures of being alive.

Maturity makes us too self-

conscious for twirling, belly laughs

 or spontaneous hugs.

But DOES growing up

have to mean growing OLD?

Or can we keep a three-year

old's sense of wonder and

glee in our hearts?

I love this quote

by Albert Einstein:

Jessica Rose via Etsy

When we stop 

moving forward ~ 

learning

pushing ourselves

trying new things

then we let ourselves

become old.

Yes, physically it gets

more challenging as we

age; that is an implacable

fact that can't be denied.

But we determine the age

we choose to be inside.

The magic number.

So this week, follow the lead

of my little cousins....

wear your happy color ~

take a twirl.... or two or three ~

get frosting on your face.

Re-discover your own

magic number.

And keep moving forward.

xx

Suzanne