Today was a beautiful day! It was fun to be with Grams at a park in Tulsa. Of course, it was a bit deceptive as while the sun was shining, there was a fierce wind that was rather chilly. Emma and Grams quickly retreated to the van for warmth, but I stuck it out while the other two ran about oblivious to the cold. I'm always amazed when I watch kids play. I've already written about it in depth this year, but seriously how refreshing is it to take a moment out of your serious adult world to listen to the giggles and unbelievable scenarios that occur on a playground? At one point though, I did notice that perhaps my family stood out just a bit from the other park-goers this day. For starters, I had taken Jack's sweatshirt that he apparently didn't need, and out of sheer desperation for a smidgen of warmth, I tied it around my head and under my chin. Yes, I just kept hearing some motherly warning about 90% of your body heat escaping from your head and since my ears had gone numb from the bitter wind, why not tie a child's sweatshirt over your head in a public park? Of course, I wasn't bold enough to snap a picture of myself-you'll just have to use your imagination (it can't be any worse than the actual picture). Then I noticed that my children also looked different from the other kids scampering about. This is how they both swung for an extensive amount of time while laughing at the top of their lungs. Jack hit a different pose every time he reached the top of the swinging motion and Annabeth... well, her picture speaks for itself. A couple of older kids gave them a few strange looks, but Jack and Annabeth were oblivious because they weren't there to impress anyone; they just thought of something fun and did it. And the laughter was contagious because most people started smiling themselves as they walked by. Laughter is a gift from the Lord- "A glad heart makes a cheerful face." I love that my children are not yet so consumed by the expectations of the world to be insecure in their enjoyment of God's gift of life. May I also return my eyes to only the expectations of Christ so that I may grace my days with smiles instead of being weighed down with the fleeting expectations of this world.
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