The Grape Ape

The little ones around here are noise makers. All day long, they sing and jabber about anything that sounds interesting, “Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you!” They’ll turn anything into a song, “So-and-so looks like an ape, he ate a grape, so he’s a grape ape!” They’ll even get excited about an alliterative tongue twister. “Seven silver swans swam silently seaward…” Lately, they are even whistling a tune, making a random beat with their mouths, and arguing — a lot.
Sometimes, it’s so much fun to hear them making their sounds. Their voices spark so much joy in our hearts. Oh to hear their excited shouts all through the yard and when we see one of them carry another bucket of toys toward us with the words, “Tum pay wit me!” Well, you know that the answer has to be “Yes, of course!” We live for these moments. 

Our first group of children have grown up and left the household. They are married and making their own families with a fresh burst of new children. We were empty nesters for about 5.2 seconds before a new set of beautiful children came along. Our life never got dull, and our lives are full of activity.
On the one side, we’re not taking those adventurous trips to Tahiti that we once imagined. We’re not boarding a plane to a random destination just to have dinner as we once dreamed of doing. We’re not buying the RV and leaving the house behind. These kids keep us here, grounded, and loaded with responsibilities. 
Can you see where this is going? The single biggest source of inconvenience that we face right now is also the biggest source of fun!

Should we concentrate on all the fun we’re missing because of the kids? Should we focus on the adventures that we’re missing?  No, of course not! If we did, we’d miss the joy that God has set before us right this minute!

This is your reminder that if we take the time to view things with the correct mindset, we can understand just how blessed we are. In every situation, a correct outlook can make a huge impact. 
Now, if your life is utterly impossible, I’m sorry. But even then – and I’ve been through a lot, so I’m not just spewing empty verbiage — even then, there is joy and beauty to be experienced. For me, during the dark times in my childhood, I found joy. It was often in playing with my toys and escaping into the stories in my head. Later, I found my escape in books and in creative stories that I wrote in a notebook now and then. Each time, I found a new spark of joy.

That attitude has served me well, and that joyful spark keeps reigniting time after painful time. And now, I’m so glad I kept looking for the bright side, because now I’m so much better at finding it! And I’m often happier than I’ve ever been.
Our life is amazing! Even in the hardest moments, we can see happy days ahead. We’re full of imagination! What’s next for us in my house today? Let’s find some fun, shall we? Let’s sit down and “pay,” or listen to the interesting things my little people have to tell me. Let’s smell the flowers, peek at the sky, and let the water pour off our backs when we’re blessed enough to have clean water for our bath.

I want to keep counting my blessings so that I can appreciate the little things. Only then will I see the big things that I have, like these amazing kids, both the full-time ones, the borrowed ones, and the temporary visitors.
Whether or not you are in the habit of seeing the sunny side of life, please learn a little about how great your own life is by counting your blessings today. I’m recommitting myself to doing just that, starting now.