When I look at this picture, I see what is no longer there. The little dimples in the knuckles. The baby fat. The crumbs from the Cheerios...
She is growing up. Her fingers are getting longer. She is thinning out. She tosses her hair to the side and puts her hand on her hip when she is exasperated.
The change in her is amazing. And she is just 6 years old.
I realize I better start paying attention to her perspective in life, because she has something I don't. She hasn't gone through the years that change little girls. The years that make girls doubt themselves and everything around them. She still has the gift of WONDER.
Another picture that makes me stop and think. Look at her. She and her friend are looking out at the ocean. But they are not just staring at the scenery. Her arm is extended. They are discussing something. Possibility. What they plan to do. How they plan to get off that rock and out where things happen.
Now take a moment and look at the boys. They are curious too. However, they are exploring where they already are. The girls have gotten there. They are focused on what is next.
The best thing that ever happened to me was becoming a MOM. I get to learn every day. I laugh until I cry. I have found strength I didn't know I had.
However, one gift I have been given is something I didn't expect. I have been given a window into the child I used to be. I am being reminded on a daily basis that there was a time where there was no such thing as a limiting belief. I could do anything. The sky was the limit.
I choose to live from that perspective now. Every day. I find myself being grateful for things I used to resent. The responsibilities of adult life that take the fun out of everything.
Because you see, if you live in wonder every day, other people that also live that way find you. You are open to seeing new things. You get included in amazing experiences and you get to set an example for your kids, that quite frankly, they have been setting for you all along.