gingerbread

expectations kill relationships, she writes,
among countless other treasures of wisdom.
we see it, the way that the small ones are surprised by every thing that crosses their senses
as they take it in, everything new
like all the waiting for a vacation and that morning finally comes
or the end of another semester of work and study and papers and late nights, the delight
a first adventure outside of the country
all of the curiosity of a first date
the speechless joy that accompanies an unexpected visit from a beloved friend
the announcement that another is expecting a baby in only 7 months when she had hoped for nearly a year that it would be so.
these feelings that the older, wiser ones know so frequently
that the younger, naive, helpless ones seem to receive so gratefully, often
because they don't have these expectations
and it is so true
i see it every day in these girls
over lunch
the stories and questions and giggles
all funny or exciting
ideas too wonderful to wait to be set into motion
and lunch lays half-eaten on the table
while the princess dresses go on
and the blankets become living room forts
and the crayons, scissors, tape are soon a masterpiece, even better than yesterday's
all a surprise
all joy
all grace
a chicken nugget that looks like a heart. surprise!
warm gingerbread from the oven. surprise!
a funny picture in a storybook. surprise!
a ball.
a clover.
a one-eyed snowman.
surprise.
the humble live surprised.
the humble live by joy.
oh, for the perspective of a child.