Rise and Shine --- Birthday month?

Good Morning and here's to hoping this is a better week!

Ever feel like you just want to jump off the roller coaster? Guess it has to stop sometime, after all, they don't ask for the tickets just to keep going and going and going.
Anyway, so a certain 5-year old I know is turning 6 next week. Once November hit, the question came every day: "How long until my birthday?"
Of course, my first answer always is, "No birthday this year. You have to stay 5. You are just right."
The little smile always comes next and she says: "Is today my birthday?"
So, this weekend I was able to tell her it was only a week away. So, that meant Sunday we had to practice.
"The boys have to sing Happy Birthday before they can eat breakfast," she told us.
A few moments later, "Daddy, the boys aren't practicing Happy Birthday."
So, we played along, we sang Happy (One week until your) Birthday.
Now I know what I'm in for the rest of the week: "It's my birthday, so I say what goes. Everybody play dolls with me."
See, she has to stay 5.

Rise and Shine --- Hokey Pokey

Good Morning and welcome to another sunny day!

You know, really, we are all doing a living version of the old song.
You put your right foot in (to work), you take your right foot out (head home), you put your right foot in (step into home) and you shake it all about (what's going on here?).
When you hear a 5-year old girl singing it in the shower (and laughing all the way), though, it's just sweet.
Usually, little girls (and boys) like to take baths at night. They like the bubbles. They like to splash around. Sometimes, though, it's just quicker to put on the shower and get everybody clean.
So, the other day, the shower went on and the song started right away. Laughing, having fun, singing like it was The Met.
Sometimes, you don't need the radio to make the heart smile or to feel young at heart.

Rise and Shine --- Tiny dancer

Good Morning and welcome back to another day!

There is a little girl I know who can't stop dancing. It doesn't matter the type of music (or if there is any music at all), she just keeps moving.
She picks up her dolls and has them dance. She dances in the car. She dances in the living room. She dances in the kitchen. She dances during dinner. She dances at school. She dances at the supermarket. She wants to dance with Mom. She wants to dance with Dad.
It is pretty amazing, really.
While the boys would rather wrestle or have Star Wars battles, the little girl just dances away.
She puts on shows for the family. She makes sure everybody is watching.
With all the problems in this wide, wide world, it's nice to have that in your life.
While her Dad may have two left feet and couldn't hold a rhythm if his life depended on it, this tiny dancer is turning us all into ballroom fans.
So, I just wanted to say thanks.

Rise and Shine --- New view

Good Morning and welcome back to April!

The heat was nice (although it stretched a bit too far). Now, we can get back to spring and wait on summer.
Meanwhile, it's kind of interesting how things can look different depending on who you are experiencing them with. For instance, you could watch the same movie 100 times by yourself, but add another person's opinion to the mix and the movie looks brand new.
Case in point, the Philadelphia Zoo. Now, I've probably visited the zoo over 100 times. I remember as a child going to the zoo every year with either the school (which also had a trip to Valley Forge every year) or Cub Scouts or just a family outing.
Since our children joined the mix, you can probably add about 15 more visits in the last 10 years.
After a while, though, it does get old. Look there are the monkeys. Over there is a rhino. Let's see the lions, tigers and bears. Then back to the car (while trying to avoid the souvenir shop) as everybody starts to melt down.
Tuesday, though, was completely different. The zoo was brand new as I walked around with a group of pre-K girls (and boys, although I was in charge of two little girls).
All they wanted to do was see the polar bears. The monkeys, lions, tortoises and the rhinos held minimal interest.
So, slowly (too slowly for my charges), we made the way to the polar bears. Being it was 90 degrees and the fact that polar bears should be in Canada not Philadelphia, the bears were mostly just sleeping in the shade.
That didn't matter, though, because near the polar bears was a water fountain they could actually touch. There were no more animals. There were no more smells. There was no more heat. There was a fountain, splashing and laughing.
Now, that's a real thing to savor.


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