Seeing the wonder in everything

Yesterday Stephie (my middle daughter ) and I took 3 of the 4 cousins to Trader Joe’s.

Two adults + three baby girls + small carts at Trader Joe’s= a big adventure!

I had 1 year old Finley in her stroller and 3 year old Ellie walking with me. Stephie had 2 year old Lucy Jean in the cart since she was doing most of the shopping.

Finley fell sound asleep immediately and Stephie and Lucy Jean disappeared with Steph’s long list. This left Ellie and I to get into a little mischief.

Pushing sleeping Finley, we started in the produce section, picking up all the fruit and veggies that piqued Ellie’s interest. She cradled a light-red pomegranate in her tiny hands, rubbing over the smooth skin with her thumb.

“What’s this called again Gigi?”

“That’s a pomegranate” I told her bending down so we were face to face.

“It’s a beautiful color Gigi” she spoke almost in a whisper, her face just inch’s from the fruit.

We moved on to a pineapple with it’s “prickles” and lemons which “smell delicious Gigi!”

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed an attractive silver-haired lady wearing a festive red scarf watching us. I was thinking that I hope I look like her in 15 years, when our eyes met. The corner of her mouth curved upward just a little before she moved away through the crowd.

For thirty more minutes, sleeping Finley and Ellie and I continued our Trader Joe’s adventure, picking up things from shelves when the pretty packages tickled our fancy and making up little stories about the huge signs with cartoon-ish characters hanging all over the place. (If you’ve been to Trader Joe’s you know what I’m talking about!)

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When we were done and Steph was checking out, Ellie, Finley and I waited at the door in front of shelves of silver buckets overflowing with fresh flowers.

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Ellie was bending over smelling all the showy flowers and insisting I bend down and do the same. Standing up, once again, out of the corner of my eye, there was that same silver-haired lady.  I turned to her, “I’m sorry, are we in your way?”

She was smiling, “Oh not at all. I’ve just been watching her” she said nodding at Ellie. “She sees the wonder in everything doesn’t she?”

“She does” I laughed as we both looked down at Ellie who was oblivious to us.

“Gigi, Gigi, smell this one. This flower smells the best of ALL the flowers!”

Before I could bend down and sniff, my new silver-haired friend knelt and breathed in the fragrant lily.

“She’s absolutely right, this one does smell the best!” she said standing, “Have a Merry Christmas”.

I watched her walk away realizing that today Ellie wasn’t the only one seeing the wonder in everything.

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There’s no better time of year to see the world through a child’s eyes.

~I pray you see the wonder in your day my friends~Sending you love~