The joy in the woodchips.

There are many moments of accurate observation, as when ...  kids at a party refuse to have the good time that has been so expensively prepared for them.  -Roger Ebert, in his review of Parenthood

We remember it vividly.  The day itself was not that impressive really, it was kind of a tiring day.  Jacob was still an itty bitty thing and I was still working full time.  School was almost over and Adam and I were chaperones on the end of the school year trip for the students.  The trip this year was to Disneyland (yay! I love Disneyland! :sniff sniff: I miss Disneyland!).  Being a chaperone on the trip was not that big a deal really, our job was to sit at Cinderella's castle for an hour being "in charge" in case any of the kids wandering the park needed, and when it wasn't our hour to sit we were free to do whatever we wanted.

While we were sitting, we watched a mother and her son.  The boy was sitting under a tree in the walkway digging and burrowing in the wood chips that were under the tree.  He was not destroying anything or making a spectacle of himself. He was giddy with excitement and laughing and very obviously loving every second.  His mother was quite the opposite.  She was tense and frustrated, she was demanding he stop "playing and enjoying himself" so he could come with her and 'play' the way she thought that playing meant when you were at Disneyland.  She missed the joy in the moment, when she was caught up in the price and tumult that is Disneyland.  In his mind, :this: was fun.  In her mind, she didn't spend all that money to have this :kind: of fun.  But who are we to determine what is fun for our kids, or whether or not they can have it?

This was a defining moment for us in our family.  We joked later that the thing that amused and brought joy to Jacob the most that day was the ceiling fan above the changing table in the baby care center.  He lit up with joy and laughter every time we laid him down on those diaper changing tables.  He thought it was the most amazing thing in the world. We were okay with that.  We're still okay with that. We have found that the wood chips have been a great reminder for us when we feel ourselves getting frustrated that the kids have found a string to play with and are lost in playful imagination when we want to be doing something else.

There is great joy to be found in the wood chips and an even greater joy to be found in recognizing and appreciating the simple things in life.