Sunday, April 19, 2009

The joy a 2-year-old brings

I felt like I had a long day at work today. I already am not a huge fan of working on Sundays and the gloominess of the day only made me feel like crawling into bed and not getting out until the sun came up again (at this rate, that would be Wednesday). Then stuff at work continued to drag me down.

On Sunday evenings I volunteer at my church with a kids organization called AWANA; I work with the 2 and 3-year-olds, the group called "Puggles." A puggle is the name of a baby platypus. I love my Puggles. Working with them always brings a smile to my face. It isn't always fun to go straight from work to Puggles, because I usually am tired, but it is always worth it. I walked into the nursery today to see one of my Puggles waiting for me with her mom. When she looked up and saw me, she ran to me with her pigtails bouncing and her arms outstretched and gave me the biggest hug a two-going-on-three-year old can. She called me "Miss Is-a-biss," the closest thing to Elizabeth most toddlers can say. She then proceeded to walk me over to the toys she was playing with, talking up a storm about her skirt, the color purple, and the rain earlier in the day.

I cannot begin to describe the absolute joy Brenna brought into my life at that moment. Working with kids, especially little ones, always brightens my day. The world is new and uncomplicated and waiting to be explored. Kids, especially those little ones, love unconditionally and are not afraid to show it. I learn so much from my Puggles.

And now my day is better.

1 comment:

Will said...

Pause, and say it with me.. "PUGG-ELLS!" You have to say it like that with a jovial grin. It's much cuter that way, you know.