I awoke and walked out of my bedroom. In the hallway was a wizard, my toddler, who cast a spell on me with her magic wand: “I will turn you into a frog.” “Ribbit, ribbit,” I said as I jumped. My daughter had milk to drink with her breakfast. She blew milk bubbles with her straw and then did something surprising to me. She took her spoon and began to eat the milk bubbles. She blew milk bubbles over and over again until they overflowed and then scooped them up with her spoon and ate them. Then, we went to Lagoon, Utah’s lone amusement park. I noticed she did the same thing on every ride. Whether it was a swings ride or a rocket ship ride, my daughter outstretched both arms into flying motion and was in flight. On a ride similar to Dumbo the Elephant ride, my daughter couldn’t get her ladybug off the ground. I coached her after the ride to pull back on the joystick to go up. She got on the ride and tried again. It took about half the ride for her to take flight. Then I noticed that she had one hand on the joystick and one arm outstretched in flight. She was in her own world of childhood wonder.
I marveled at the delight of a child. When funky music played, she danced and sang along whether or not she knew the tune. We spent part of our day at the water park. I initially sat on the ground to watch her play. Then my daughter came to me with an outstretched hand and pleadingly invited, “Come play with me.” How could I resist? After going down one slide, I was crouched in the water and my daughter came up and gave me such a big hug, it bowled me over. I ended up with an owie on my elbow, which is perfect for a day of playing with a child. What if we, as adults, used our imagination, were spontaneous, weren’t afraid to try or to try again, believed in our dreams and in ourselves, and invited others to simply play? At the end of the day, I asked my daughter what milk bubbles taste like. I looked forward to a magical answer, such as “Ice cream fairyland” or “Angel cotton candy.” My daughter looked at me kinda funny and replied, “Milk. It’s just made of milk.”
So, if you'd like to feel like a child, try blowing milk bubbles today.
So, if you'd like to feel like a child, try blowing milk bubbles today.
