BY I.F. EASTMAN, FAMILY SERVICES OF WARREN COUNTY
An unexpected rain shower sent my family scurrying from the patio into the house with one notable exception. We heard a happy voice coming from the backyard:
It's raining! It's poring!
The old man is snoring!
He went to bed! Bumped his head!
And he couldn't get up in the morning!
It was my three year old great-nephew, Eli, singing and dancing up a storm of his own. He was positively delighted by the rain on a hot day and it prompted his grand performance on the lawn.
My mind drifted back a few days to an airline trip I took with the youth group. As we boarded in Buffalo, we were surrounded by world weary business travelers who saw the plane as an inconvenience between point A and B. But with every stop our plane filled up with ever more young people who were traveling to the same service project. Their enthusiasm was infectious and by our second stop we had a full blown pandemic on our hand. Applause as the plane became airborne. Arms in the air roller coaster style when we hit turbulence or banked. High fives to the flight attendants on the way out the door.
My nephew and those teens remind me that there is still a little fun to be found even in the most ordinary of days. We just have to look.
THINK ABOUT THIS: Have a little bit of fun everyday.
I.F. Eastman coordinates Healthy Communities-Healthy Youth of Warren County on behalf of Family Services. Portions of this article were adapted from Get the Word Out: Communication Tools and Ideas for Asset Builders Everywhere with permission from the publisher.
Article Photos
