i love mickey mouse ears

before i get down to reverb-ing for the day, i would like to express how much i love christmas time. the classic, old tune doesn't lie- this is the most wonderful time of the year. the season is made especially wonderful this year as the ground is covered in several inches of snow. the wonderful white rain started two weeks ago and it has yet to let up. with temperatures of -5, i imagine the 'no' as eleri calls it will be around for a long time yet. "i'm dreaming of a white christmas..."

snow everywhere, a nice warm fire roasting away, christmas sweets all around the house, advents calendars being opened daily, christmas lights, cinnamon and apple cider, hot chocolate, christmas trees, stockings, mince pies, christmas pudding, nuts, nativity scenes, carol singing, tinsil, hoiliday movies and holly wreaths. i love all the sounds, smells and trimings that come along with christmas.

i love christmas.

so without any kind of smooth transition at all, reverb 10 for 4 december

Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year

through my daughter's eyes.




although i do feel that short sentence is a sufficient enough answer to the question, i will briefly expound. i have always considered myself to have a child- like attitude. i still enjoy playgrounds, running around in circles, cartoons, disney movies, colouring books and play-do. i tend to laugh quite a bit and can look at the positive in most people and things (most of the time). i always thought i was childlike in my attitude. not immature, just easily amused. heck, i think i enjoyed Euro Disney more than little e! at risk of sounding like peter pan, i never wanted to grow up and i actively strove to make sure i didnt.

then i had a child of my very own.

i quickly realised that whilst i was always up for laughing and having fun, the basic simplicity with which a child views the world was long gone in my life. the sense of awe at even the most common of things had long ago been replaced with a sense of particality. but the 'adult' view can often become boring, and at its worst, stagnant. so, over the past year i have gradually tried to shift my view and see as much as i can through eleri's eyes. yes i am the adult. yes i do have make 'adult' decisions. but it is amazing how much i learn on the days where i truly view life through the eyes of my daughter.

-flashing neon lights are magical and enchanting
-a street performer is no longer someone who is in my way that i need to step around, but a mystifying and tantalizing act of skill and excitement.
-animal sounds can provide laughter, learning and amusement for hours on end.
-actually touching the animals is a level of adventure and exploration previously unknown
-going down a slide, eating pizza, playing in the sand, squirting each other with bath toys, building a fort, running barefoot in the grass, jumping in puddles, moping the floor, baking cookies, playing with puppets, crunching feet in the snow...every little thing becomes something new, different and exciting. not to be overly cheesy, but life becomes magical.



whenever i get overwhelmed or really stressed out, i try to simply it. i try to view life- the situation, my circumstance, whatever- through the eyes of my daughter. if nothing else, it puts a smile of my face and sense of wonder in my heart, even if only for a few minutes.