Just for the fun of it

Today my youngest child (younger than his next-youngest sibling by 16 years) celebrated his seventh birthday. When I wished him a happy birthday, he ran back and forth through the house jubilantly shouting, "AAAHHHH! I'm SEVENNNNNN! I"M SEVENNNNN!"

The dog grunted. The cat stared and cautiously backed away. He didn't care. He just started running again, his voice echoing through the living room, bedroom, bathroom, back through the bedroom, living room, and on to the kitchen. I wondered if he would open the back door and shout it to the neighborhood, but he didn't.

I hugged him and he assured me he wasn't too big to be hugged -- yet. "But I'm SEVENNNNNN!" More running. Happy dance. More running.

It's moments like this I treasure, and moments like this that remind me to take myself a little less seriously. Of course, this doesn't mean I will be running through the house screaming "I'm Forty-SIXXXXXXXX!" on my birthday. Unless, of course, I happen to be teasing a sibling who's going to be the big 5-0. But when no one is looking, I might jump on the bed. Or take a turn on the swings. Or stand on my porch and look at the stars, and dream of the things still yet to come and remember the many moments that have enriched my life. Just for the fun of it.