As we grow older and start taking on more responsibilities, we slowly lose that childlike view of the world. We stop celebrating the little things and start to work harder to achieve our larger, more impressive goals.
That is not necessarily a bad thing. But what if we could have the best of both worlds?
I have been spending time with a three-year-old, Rayden, for the past few weeks. He has made me realize how little I get excited about nowadays and how important it is to celebrate the little victories along with the big ones.
Last week, Rayden learned how to use the break on his scooter. Before, he would stop very aggressively by putting both feet down and sloppily running with the scooter between his legs until he stopped, which scared me half to death every time.
But when Rayden finally stepped on the break over the back wheel and came to a stop, he dropped his scooter screaming, “I did it! I did it!” He ran back and gave us high fives jumping up and down with pure joy radiating from his face.
It was in that moment that I realized I was missing out on the simple joys in life. I did not find joy in stopping my car at stoplights or when I learned something new at work or in school. I just accepted the fact that I can drive a car and I moved on with my life.
Maybe we should start celebrating the smallest wins in our day, whether it is as simple as not pushing snooze when our alarm goes off in the morning or making a perfect fried egg. We should start celebrating when we make it to work on time or when we learn how to do something new.
I took Rayden to the zoo over the weekend. I quickly learned that bringing a child to the zoo is a lot more fun than just going with your adult friends. You get excited about the animals and try to find them hiding in their cages hoping that you get to point them out to a child and see the biggest smile spread across their face.
Rayden might be one of the happiest, most easily excited kids I have ever met. On the way to the zoo, he would giggle with excitement every time we passed a semi-truck or drove underneath a tunnel. He would laugh uncontrollably when he put his flip-flops on the wrong feet. He would want to show me every time he held his spoon in his mouth without his hands.
In the snake exhibit at the zoo, he stared at them as he called me back over to look at them more closely with him. He was overly amused with the polar bear that he said was just like a dog. He was very excited that he got to see three different animals relieve themselves in front of him.
He did not complain about the heat or the fact that several animal exhibits were empty. Instead, he laughed at the empty otter exhibit because he saw a leaf in the water.
Rayden might not be like most kids, with such a love for life and a love for the littlest things, but he has taught me that life could be much more enjoyable if we simply learned to enjoy it.
Taylor Garske 