My four year old granddaughter continues to amaze me and teach me lessons about life. She attends a private pre-school at a very small school. The school has a large yard that has a garden, a play area and a sand pit for the kids to play in. Several months ago, she came home carrying a broken sea shell that she had found while playing in the sand pit. She is so proud of that shell and it is one of her most prized possessions. She carries it around often and will show it off to any and everyone. She will gladly tell you that she found it at school in the sand pit and that no one else has found a shell. The simple joy she gets from this sea shell just warms my heart.
We have a small plastic turtle sandbox in our backyard full of sand and a few small shovels and cups to play with. I got the bright idea of purchasing a bag of sea shells at the Dollar Tree to seed the sandbox with a few shells. The first time she sifted through the sand and found a shell was priceless. The look of excitement on her face was the cutest thing ever. She ran into the house to show her Nana, Mom and Dad her recent find. After that, she couldn't wait to dig more shells! At one point she had found the five shells I had planted and continued to dig furiously. I told her that she may have found them all. She replied, "I know there are more!" as she kept digging. I went to the garage and grabbed a few more shells to put into the sand without her knowing. When she dug the next one up, she excitedly exclaimed "I told you Pawpaw! I knew there were more shells!". She was as excited for the 6th shell as she was for the 1st shell.
I continue to hide 5-6 shells every time she leaves so there will be more fun ahead for her. This tiny little sandbox just keeps on giving up the shells! I love the her enthusiasm and excitement as she digs through the sand for that next treasured sea shell. She has the same wide eyed excitement with finding worms, doodle bugs and many other things.
I recently read a great book In Awe by John O'Leary. In this book, O'Leary talks about how adults lose that childlike wonder of the things around us and normal everyday experiences. He talks about our need to look at the world through childlike eyes and not take things for granted. The book also discusses how nothing is impossible. He advises that most of modern day amenities were once impossible. Think about that for a moment, Traveling the world in cars and airplanes would have once seemed impossible. Travel to the moon or Mars, once impossible. Texting and emailing and sending photos and movies over the internet, once impossible. The book was very good and reminds us to look at the world around us with new eyes.
As I get older, I have learned a lot about enjoying the minor things in life and to be in awe of more things around me. I encourage you to read the book and see if you can take something from it. Hopefully, we can all get excited about finding a sea shell in the sand and enjoy the moment to the maximum!
John O'Leary is one of my favorite authors (who, coincidentally, happens to be from my area).
ReplyDeleteI need to read some of his others. I really liked In Awe.
DeleteMany years ago, we rented a house along the ocean front in Panama City, Florida only to find out when we arrived, they were rebuilding the beaches and they were closed. For most of the week, we watched as the dredged sand from out in the bay, piped it ashore with huge tubes and pushed it around with bulldozers. With maybe only a day or two left in our vacation, they moved further down on the beach and we could at last use it again. As I walked down to the water, I saw part of a seashell exposed in the sand and kicked at it. Out popped an entire intact seashell and not anywhere like the worn out broken things I typically found. I picked it up and my fingers brushed against another and another. I went back to the rental and came back this time with a plastic kiddie shovel and a plastic sack and starting digging at that site. It was like all the shells from the ocean floor had been pumped up and deposited right there. I was like your granddaughter that day as I excavated one shell after another, many I had never ever seen before washed up on a beach in all my years of walking them. I still have a glass vase full of the finer specimens sitting in our living room and it never fails to bring a smile to my face looking at them and remembering the discovery that day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that awesome story! It's little things, like a jar of sea shell memories, that make life so great.
DeleteI just love this!!!!
ReplyDeleteAwww... gee... You are just the bestest grandpa.
ReplyDeleteI try!
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