SIMPLICITY is SWEET

The following article appeared in Monday's edition of the Leftist Journal here in Louisville, Ky. It really touched me because of the wisdom and sincerity of the article. The author(ess) Jessica McClain, is a junior at Eastern High School. Please take time to read it, it is very well written and holds a very valuable life lesson.

"The joy of a lawnmower"
Remember when we were little, and something as simple as a trip to the playground was the best thing in the world? A trip to the ice cream parlor made us shriek with joy, and seeing your parents after school was the highlight of your day? As we grow up, we lose sight of the joy in the simple things. Now going to the park while babysitting is a chore, the ice cream cone that would make us unbelievably happy as a child has too many calories, and seeing our parents is not exactly the highlight of our day. We lost sight of what is really important. Why can't we all learn a small lesson from who we used to be, the ones who were content with what we had, the ones who simply loved being alive?
This summer, my cousin came to visit from Minnesota. She has two sons, Jackson, a 2 year old, and Sullivan, who is 18 months. Jackson absolutely lights up my life. When he visited this summer, I took him down to the park. On the way there, we had to walk under a rather low-hanging tree. The leaves brushed his head and he immediately started laughing and shrieking with joy. I asked him why he was so happy and he said in his adorable little toddler voice: "I just love trees Jessica!" I started laughing, my brother started laughing, and I realized how the simple things should make you smile.
It was then that I started wondering about the joy that fills a toddler. Why can they be so pleased with the simple things, when older people are supposed to be so wise with the years? Honestly, I believe the opposite is true. Toddlers have such an insight that the rest of us lose with time. They don't live to please anyone, and they just live and roll with the punches. A scraped knee is the worst thing that could happen to them, and the trauma of that is brushed off with the next simple pleasure that enters their life. Why do we insist on dwelling on how someone stole our boyfriend, or heaven forbid someone says something about us behind our backs? It's my goal to find the joy that a toddler finds in everything I do.
I went to Florida with my family for Christmas last year. Of course, Jackson and Sullivan were there. The day that their family was going to the airport, it was my job to keep Jackson out of the way. We found one of the giant rolls of paper, and Jackson laid down on it and I outlined him. We drew his face, his clothes, and his hair on it, but I still needed to keep him distracted for a little while longer, so we decided to make a list of what he likes on the side of the paper. Besides the obvious things he told me he likes, like "baby Van", and mommy and daddy, he told me he loved lawnmowers. Jackson has a little bit of an obsession with lawnmowers. He was actually a lawnmower for Halloween last year.
Every time I am with this kid, I intentionally look for lawnmowers. I see it first, and immediately turn to Jackson. Slowly, he realizes what the roaring sound is, and his face lights up as he screams about how yes, there is a lawnmower! Now, when I see a lawnmower, I immediately think of Jackson, and how I wish I could get that excited over something so simple.
I really have been trying to get that mentality back. I think if people could keep that mentality through their lives, our tidbits of truly pathetic drama as teenagers would be laughable. If we were all like toddlers, a hug would fix any sadness, a kiss would mean all was forgiven, and simply laughing would make all the other things fade away. End.