"I don't know what you are going to do," said Pippi, "but I know I can't lie around and be lazy. I am a Thing-finder, and when you're a Thing-finder you don't have a minute to spare."
"What did you say you are?" asked Annika.
"A Thing-finder."
"What's that?" asked Tommy.
"Somebody who hunts for things, naturally. What else could it be?" said Pippi as she swept all the flour left on the floor into a little pile.
"The whole world is full of things and somebody has to look for them. And that's just what a Thing-finder does," she finished.
Pippi Longstocking
Chapter 2: Pippi Is a Thing-Finder and Gets into a Fight
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Let me begin by saying that it's really a delight to read something silly to your children. I love to read good stories with wonderful characters, and I love to read a good book that makes my boys giggle, wonder & imagine.
Back to Thing-finders...my five-year-old has got a knack for finding a most wonderful thing: money. Nearly every time we come home from an outing, he puts his hand in his pocket & says "Mama! Guess what I found?!"
"Fifty-seven cents!!"
I'm no longer surprised, but sometimes it's perplexing for his brothers. They can't seem to believe Eli's luck. But I've explained to them this; Eli finds the money because he's looking for the money.
It brings me back to wondering about joy, gratefulness, misery.
I have been kind of pushing through my summer with a sort of duty, things to do, people to see, places to go. In all that mash I've kind of lost my eye for beauty. Not finding so much joy. Forgetting thankfulness.
In the Spring I started my thankful list, I got really good at finding things. Things to appreciate, (washing machines) things to enjoy, (little boy laughter) things to remember, (the way he holds my hand from the car to the store) things to laugh at, (the silly face I've seen a million times). But I've gotten out of the habit of looking. Looking for joy... but when I am Thing-finding, joy-finding....I find it. Always, I find something to enjoy.
What is it? What happens when we grow up that we get all serious and too busy to live. To breathe the moments in and out and look and really see a person?
Regardless, I guess all I can do is to fight my own little tide of gloom. Start again, numbering my blessings, joys and silver-linings. I'll pick up the pen and start again counting my joy:
835. a whole, entire day to be at home; make order and rest
836. kind teachers that invest in my boys
837. a fisherman-husband who loves to visit with me, everyday.
838. long-distance phone calls on the couch, smiling at dust bunnies without a care
829. the rustle of wind through the trees
830. a lunch date at the kitchen table with my Nate, playing staring games and giggling together.
What thing will you find today?
1 comment:
A jigsaw puzzle with my Grandma!!!
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