The Little Things

It's one of the most universal experiences of motherhood, the joy of seeing life's wonders through a child's eyes.  It's been written about so many times, in so many ways, by so many people.

And yet, I have to write it again, because never do I want to forget this morning.

Corrie and I were in the deli section of the grocery store, when she happened to notice the rotisserie chicken oven, slowly spinning and laden with meat.

"WOOK!" she yelled, pointing.  "A chicken!"

And then?  As the rotisserie continued to spin...

"Wook!  Hee comes chicken again!"

And then?  Three seconds later...

"Hee comes chicken again!"

This continued for quite some time, as she laughed and clapped and the people around us smiled, and I realized it's been a very long time since I had ever received such joy from poultry.

So I write this, and I turn it over and over in my heart, the heartwarming life lesson taught to me--daily--by a blonde-haired, brown-eyed bundle of exuberance about the wonder in the simplest things around me. 

So I won't forget.

Comments

[jen]

I love childrens eyes when they discover something new
their eyes light up :)

[Loralee]

I think that is quite possibly one of the cutest moments ever. [At least one not involving one of my children, that is :)]

[Mandy]

That is too stinkin' cute!!! I love it!!

[Marcia Francois]

Aaaaah - how sweet. I can just imagine her glee.

[Elizabeth]

My people always loved the "lomsters" at Sam's:-)

[floorplan]

What a sweetie she is!

When my DS was a toddler (now a teenager) he called our deli rotisserie "the chicken carwash" --- i guess because the birds were skewered on the horizontal and there was a lot of dripping going on!

[Lisa@Take90West]

Leave it to the kids to make us stop and smell the roses.

Or chicken, in your case.

[Dana]

Awww - that is sweet. Yep, we often foul (ha ha) up and don't recognize the joy in small things.

[Dana]

I'm obviously not awake yet. I mean "we often fowl up..." Note to self: don't try to be cute before you are awake. :)

[veronica]

Your post reminds me of a favorite quote from Chesterton's Orthodoxy:

"Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again” and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that he has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."

[Jenny from Chicago]

Thanks for sharing that moment. Aren't we lucky, we moms, that moments like that often happen just for us?

[boomama]

That sweet girl - you give her a big ole hug from me.

[chilihead]

I could eat her up.

[dawnz]

For some reason that brought tears to my eyes. The sweet innocence of childhood. :)
d

[MamaLee]

LOVE this post.

Write it all down. Take pictures. It's all there. We just have to scoop it up.

XOXO

[Randi]

This is sweet! I will be thinking of this when I am standing at the deli counter in the grocery store later today!

[Kirstie]

I can't wait to experience things like that with my munchkin....at the same time, I'd love for him to stay just as he is now!

[Shalee]

Posts like this one makes me wish that I could blog 11 years ago.

[T with Honey]

It is so much fun watching a little one's eyes light up over the ordinary. I only notice things like this when the power goes out but Princess notices them all the time.

[Steamy Kitchen]

what a precious moment!

[New Diva on the Blog]

Cute!

[Janine @ Moving Mama]

Your post made me hungry and happy at the same time :)

[Mary Jo]

This is a great reminder. My 2-year-old son is giddy about tractors, and since there's a ton of construction going on in North Texas we see at least 15 a day. I haven't yet tired of his squealing EVERY time he sees one, but your post reminds me how lucky I am to be a mom to my two little guys. Thanks!

[Megan]

This reminds me of when both of my girls were toddlers. On rainy days we would go to Costco and they would watch the chickens spin for ever! Such sweet times...

[Sandy@Reluctant Entertainers]

I love this post, Shannon!
It's always the simple things that seem to get our attention.
Now when I get my chix at Costco I'll be thinking about this ...
Sandy

[Thea]

Sometimes it's the simple things that remind me why I became a mom in the first place.

[charlotte]

It IS the simple thing in life that bring so much joy. I might even enjoy the chicken next time I see it rotating...

[jenn]

Oh, that made me laugh! And fits right into the theme for my life this fall - "Be present Today" (which you can read more about in a post on my blog!)

[Kara]

Yes, we are blessed to be able to see the world through a child's eye even if it is just in small moments like these!

[Renee]

The simplest things bring children so much joy.

[Trina]

Thats just a sweet as can be.

I just love those roasted chickens by the way!

Trina

[peach]

"such joy from poultry". . . Only a two-year-old can give us a good enough reason to link those words together . . . unless you're momrn2, who also wrote about poultry and its attributes today : )

Thanks for the smile. I'm going to go turn over some old memories and reminisce a bit myself today. I miss those years of so many "a-ha" moments.

[Sandy M]

What a beautiful story. Thanks for that. It is something we all need to remember but most of us forget.

[Patti]

Oh my what a great moment! Thanks... love people that can write to share such a simple thing to remind us all the wonderful things of children!

[Alexis]

That is the sweetest things I have read in a long time. How precious. :)

[Laurie]

Get it, you "turned it over and over"
in your heart! !! :) Laurie

[Faerylandmom]

Sigh. I know what you mean...

[anonymous]

Similar incident here.

While putting my 5yr old nephew to sleep, he used to look at the wall-clock and everytime the seconds hand passed 20 he used to jump up and scream "20" and ask everybody to join him in the celebrations...this used to go on for 20-30 minutes each day before he slept. Needless to say, we moved the clock to a different place.

This post brought back some happy memories.

[Daisy]

Again! And it goes around again! I'm smiling just imagining it.

[Karen Vogel]

The joy is always in the little things, isn't it, though? That's what I've learned over the past 16 years.