Everything is Awesome!

Motherhood is all about attitude. Childhood is all about wonder and amazement. It never surprises me how amazing things are through the eyes of a child. Innocence, amazement, and love keep life in perspective.

For example, my oldest daughter and I took a walk at night and caught a glimpse of the Milky Way in the sky. It was amazing to see her excitement and wonder at the sight. I got to experience that moment twice. Once through my own wonder and amazement at the beauty around me, and a second time through the wonder and amazement my daughter was showing. It was such an awesome experience to share together.

Or there was a time when I was driving the car, listening to “Let it Go”, and my kindergartner asked me why anyone would want to “break the dawn”. And as I explained that phrase to him, I was given such a deeper understanding of how he thinks and experiences the world. I also understood how literal life is for Kindergartners, and how some of my phrases probably don’t make any sense at all to him.  Phrases like “we need to get cracking” probably cause him a lot of concern.

There was the time my second grader created a way for all of his siblings to have multi-flavored Popsicles. He thought sharing the flavors would make the Popsicle party more interesting, and got all of his siblings to trade. What a creative way to have fun with everyone! Awesome creativity, my son!

My preschooler is still delighted by every flower she sees. She loves to pick the pretty flowers. To her, even the dandelions are beautiful flowers, worthy of center piece status. We go walking together, and I end up with handfuls of what a grown up would call weeds, but what my daughter sees as amazing creations.

The baby shows her emotion and feelings with her whole body. Every day brings a new accomplishment or a new adventure for her. She just recently managed to get a forkful of food into her mouth. She was so proud of herself. It was an awesome fête of eye hand coordination. Seeing her reaction to her accomplishment reminded me of how amazing the act of feeding oneself really is. What an awesome thing to be able to do!

In short, life is awesome when seen through the eyes of a child. More often than not, I forget this perspective. But when it breaks upon me, I am amazed at what I see. I am so glad I have children to remind me that “everything is awesome.”