Pure Joy~~~

Last week I had the wonderful privilege of spending every day with my granddaughter. (She was on fall break from her kindergarten classes.) After visiting parks, zoos, museums and the movies, a few very special moments stand out in my memory.
 
One of those moments occurred while we were walking around the Out of Africa Wildlife Zoo in Camp Verde, Arizona.  As my granddaughter and I were waiting for the Tiger Splash show to begin, a young girl, holding a small stuffed tiger, walked in front of where we were sitting. My granddaughter said, “Oh, that’s a very pretty tiger.” Immediately, the other girl walked over to us and let my granddaughter hold her stuffed animal. After a few minutes of casual conversation between the two, my granddaughter asked, “Would you like to be my friend?” The other girl enthusiastically replied, “Yes.” From that moment on, she and her mother and grandmother accompanied us throughout the rest of our visit. Come to find out, the family was born in Brazil, had recently spent 5 years in China, and had just relocated to Arizona. We had a wonderful time with them, and it was all made possible by a simple invitation to be one’s friend.
 
Another moment that I loved was when my granddaughter was enjoying a water-splash feature at another zoo in Arizona. Our temperatures were still running in the high 90’s, so the thought of running barefoot through randomly placed sprays of water was too much for her to resist. At one point, she ended up in the middle of four sprays of water. As the water poured over her, she tilted her head to the sky, raised her arms upright, and smiled an expression of pure joy. Thankfully, my camera was ready and I caught the moment on film.  
 
There were many more moments of laughter and joy throughout our week, but these two instances, in particular, reminded me of the wondrous spontaneity of children. She is my heart, and I am constantly learning life lessons from her.
 
I hope that you all experience some “pure joy” in your days this week.
Love always~