The blue fingers of happiness

There are many moments in a parent's life when you wonder if it's all worth it. The bottomless pit of expenses. The endless sleepless nights. The constant worrying about their todays and tomorrows. The fear that you aren't doing enough for them or setting enough aside for the inevitable long-term therapy.


Despite the clouds that often seem to hang over our day-to-day lives, I'm perpetually amazed by our children's ability to force the sun to shine on us all. It can be as simple as a smile, a hug or an encouraging word, most often delivered spontaneously, just because. However they choose to share the moment with us, it's rarely filtered or dampened by the external world. Instead, it's a reflection of them, before life has had a chance to rationalize the spark out of them.

To wit, our youngest son, Noah. He still holds my hand when I drop him off at school or camp, still wants me to read to him at night, still hangs out with me at the kitchen table over grapefruit juice first thing in the morning so he can tell me about the day he has planned. Still talks to the dog as if he understands every word, then holds on gently for what seems like an age as he silently divines his furry best friend's response.

I dig his spirit. He doesn't have to say a word to light up a room. All you need to do is look at him.

Your turn: Please define "human spirit". I suspect the world could use more of it these days, so we may as well start here, right?

About this picture: We're doing the blue thing as part of this week's Thematic Photographic theme. Scroll down to Thursday's entry to join in.