4th of July Through A Child's Eyes.....

"Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart."

~Mencius~

We had a wonderful 4th of July celebration here at the Quill. I thought I would share a few holiday decor images with you. I wish I had been organized enough to share these with you BEFORE the holiday but, truth be told, I wasn't in much of a holiday celebration mode. I was running on empty after three nights of sporadic sleep and I was just plain tired. I made up my mind that I would do this for my little grandson. Let me tell you, I am so glad I did! You could not believe his precious little face when he saw all the color and sparkles. His little lips rounded into a puckered little "O". A tiny gasp of delight whooshed out followed by a whoop of, "WOW!" Hand clapping and jumping up and down ensued to repeated shouts of "It's A Party!"His enthusiasm melted every tired bone in my body. His excitement was infectious. He was quite taken with the party favors filled with candy, a twist on the traditional paper cone. He carried it around all evening announcing that it was, "A Party!" He liked that his party had a rainbow (handle) on it and he could carry it by the rainbow.He plucked all the glittered paper stars off the center of the table and put them on his plate declaring that they were his stars.He was excited about the paper pinwheels and the big tin flag hanging on the wall.He wanted to be lifted up to touch all the sections of the banner and declared that he liked the button flowers on the tips.He wanted to try on the bears little paper hat and spent some time playing the little wooden drum.He pushed a chair over to examine the dinning nook decor where a lot of flag waving took place.When it came time to shoot fireworks I hardly noticed all the sparkle and shine rocketing off into the inky night sky because my eyes were locked on the most delighted little face that lit up far more than any roman candle ever could. After each display he would clap and shout, "Try it again Daddy." or "Try it again Grandpa.", encouraging them to light another one.The very best part of the evening was when he began to wind down, freshly bathed, he curled up in my lap and wanted me to sing. So we sang Yankee Doodle while his "party" was still clutched firmly in his grip. I rocked and sang as conversation swirled around us. Little eyelids fluttered, his grip on his "party" loosened, one last contented sigh and he was asleep.
I continued to rock hugging the moment in my heart and thinking about freedom, childlike freedom, the ability to express oneself in delight and wonder without restraint. The ability to enjoy the simplest of pleasures like a paper cone filled with candy that represented a whole party with a rainbow handle full of promise. I don't ever want to lose that wonder and awe over all the gifts and blessings in my life or the ability to recognize them and exclaim over them without restraint whether they be my political views, religious beliefs, or personal opinions.Thorough this event my little grandson taught me about the freedom of exploration, expressing delight, and being filled with joy over the simplest of pleasures. He showed me that even the smallest of efforts reaps a great reward. His little exclamations of appreciation were gifts of encouragement. His enthusiasm was a reminder to view my world with childlike eyes, a childlike heart, and with childlike wonder. Long after the party decor has been packed away, the lessons learned will remain.

Blessings,
Miss Sandy