Last night we had dinner at our neighbors' house. They have a 4 year-old son who, before dinner, was showing us a few of his toys. He introduced us to some of them. His otter, his dinosaur, and a few others. He said, "I love them," and without missing a beat he added, "I love you guys, too."
It warmed my heart. It was such a kind, innocent gesture. Natural and genuine. Made me think about how, at 4, these feelings can be shared so honestly and selflessly. As we grow older, it becomes harder to say, "I love you," as we have developed layers of insecurities and self-consciousness that prevent us from making ourselves so vulnerable, and sharing of ourselves so openly. But as a result, we are missing opportunities to experience kinship-- a connection where we feel that we "belong to one another" (I stole that from Father Greg Boyle, who I think stole it from Mother Theresa). I have to thank my 4 year-old neighbor for reminding me of that.
Love it. And you too :^) - Linder
ReplyDeleteImagine a 17 year old boy from California arriving at South Station in Boston in September 1939 on his way to Harvard College. He had never been outside of California except for a short trip to Nevada so the Boston atmosphere and environs was entirely strange to him. Scroll forward 72 years to an 89 year old man, now with 3 healthy successful children and 4 grandchildren, also healthy and successful. How can one be more thankful than this? Obviously I am flattered that my granddaughter Jody Kent Levy has honored me by naming this blog after my habit of asking her “what is the happy word?” every time I have seen her over the years. Thank you Jody.
ReplyDeleteFrom Grandpa Jack...typos are Lisa's fault
Scroll forward to 2014, and Grampa Jack and Gramma Ginnie preparing to move…. and still sending out and receiving back "happy words".
ReplyDeleteI haven't visited this blog for a while, but it is just as good today as the day I first read it… reminding me of timeless moments, rekindling the life of my spirit.