reckless abandon

song: sweet disposition – artist: ellie goulding (covering temper trap)

We all know how I dig a cover. 🙂

This entry could alternately be titled: little people are my jam

I was in the mall the weekend before Halloween. I’d gone with the intent to hit up two specific stores. On my way out of the second, the Hallmark store caught my eye with its Christmas card display. (I know, I know. Christmas cards before Halloween. I get it. I do. But let us all quell our disapproval of advance holiday marketing for a moment.) The last few years have led to less than desirable results in attempting to track down Christmas cards. Not that they aren’t available, because there is a bounty to be found in any establishment that even remotely has reason to stock them, but they rarely have the desired mix of aesthetic appeal and simple, heartfelt prose I’m seeking. I decided to check Hallmark’s offerings off the list early this year, so it wouldn’t be a looming possibility when I got to looking at other stores. I don’t advocate going into something expecting to be disappointed. Truth be told, I was holding out hope to be amazed. And I was, though it wasn’t so much because of the cards.

Hallmark had a display set up right at the entrance of the store. It had some shelves down low with boxes of cards on them. As I was wearing heels and a dress, affecting a ladylike squat (it sounds like an oxymoron, really. basically, a knees together squat is what I’m talking about.) was in order, if I was going to peruse this selection. So this is what I did. As I’m checking out the cards, I catch movement in the peripheral. When I look up, I see a wee little toddler girl with a pacifier in her mouth toddling into the store, her grandpa not far behind. He was basically allowing her to occupy herself with toddling about the mall while he supervised. She was already headed my general direction, so I smiled and said hi. She toddled right up to me, gave me a hug (complete with a head tilt, touching my head with hers) and then turned around to leave the store. I got a drive-by toddle-by hug! It was awesome! Her grandpa said, "You must be special!" as he followed her out of the store. Clearly all other trips to the mall will pale in comparison, henceforth!

Come Halloween, I was the designated candy-hander-outer. This is my favorite part of Halloween, now that I’m an adult. Little kids, coming to the door, hopped up on the excitement of wearing a costume and getting candy. They are ADORABLE! This year, the majority of the trick-or-treaters seemed to be under the age of ten. OMG, you guys! They were so very cute! I think it was the second bunch that came to the door that had a very little girl in the group. She was four or five, maybe. She’d been one of the last to make it up the walk, and as the other kids were leaving, she turned around, too. When her mom, who’d stayed at the end of the driveway, asked her why she didn’t go to the door to get some candy, she responded, "I did! I found it on the ground!" One of the other kids that came before her must’ve dropped it. But she was so happy with her found candy. It was rad!

My mid- and late-twenties seem to be the time I’m taking to the wee people. It’s not that I ever disliked them before. I was just mostly ambivalent. But I’ve definitely warmed to them. I think they are pretty awesome! They seem to instinctively know this now. So, we get to bond in short bursts and life is definitely sweeter for it.

Strangely, it’s not a biological clock ticking away sort of thing. While I’m down with having kids at some juncture, I’m not feeling any pressure to marry and procreate. I’m just enjoying the inherent awesomeness of the little folks when I get the chance. They’re always good enough to indulge me. Bless their sweet, sweet hearts! 🙂