Animal Crackers & Gold Fish

I live with several small children in my home, who often refer to me as their older sister. I watch them play with each other and the friends they have over, and observe how they practically pounce on any visitor, no matter the age, who comes in the front door. "Do you want to play with us?" they chime. When they get in a fight or one of them gets hurt, tears fall, apologies are exchanged, and in mere moments laughter and happiness resumes.

Some times I envy how simple their lives are and I can't help but think, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could go back in time, and see through the eyes of our childhood? To see the dandelions as a royal garden, a pile of empty boxes as a great fortress, and every person we meet, our newest best friend. Children have an innocence that young adults often strive to destroy from with in themselves, and grown ups often forget they ever had. But what if we could go back? Back to when our hardest decision was picking out a crayon color, or deciding if we wanted animal crackers or gold fish for our daily snack. Back to when the world was at our feet, and we had all the love in the world to give.

Unfortunately, we'll never be able to go back. But that doesn't stop us from going forward with the same light in our eyes we used to carry so easily. We all have to grow older, look for jobs, pay the bills, and make choices that would have boggled our younger minds, but that doesn't stop us from finding the joy in the little things. It's so easy to get wrapped up in our crazy lives we often miss the little things that are most precious. It takes effort to remember to stop and smell the flowers. It can be very difficult befriending a rude co-worker. Sure you don't have to smell the flowers, watch a sunset, or make a new friend, but wouldn't it make life so much more enjoyable? I know that'd I'd rather go to work with a friend then with an enemy. The choice lies with in me. Will I view the world with the loving eyes of a child, or will I look at it through the bitter eyes of someone who already has too much to do? It truly is a choice as simple as animal crackers or gold fish.