Zest for Life

Today I received a gift. 

My kids have the day off and so we were able to sleep in a bit.  At 8:00 my three year-old climbed into my bed fully dressed, hair brushed complete with a matching headband.  She was carrying the game, Twister, and bounced on my bed asking, "Mommy, do you want to come play?"  My eyelids were still stuck together and mouth guard glued to my teeth.  I could barely say, mmhhmm.  At that point my five year-old climbed into my bed to snuggle and moaned, "I'm never getting dressed today."  My seven year-old, never made it out of bed until 9:00 and only spoke enough words to get what she wanted for breakfast, "Cinnamon Life, no milk." 

I remember a day when my older children were up and running with the sun.  Every morning was a joyful new day, full of fun and exciting things to do.  It occurred to me that this zest for life is lost at some point, apparently between the age of 3 and 5 for my family.  I don't know if kindergarten, alarm clocks, or responsibility are to blame for killing our joy or if it's just natural.  I wish life could always be met with as much zest as my little girl. 

She just ran screaming into the computer room, "Mommy, Mommy, come look outside, I can see the grass,  Woohoo! Spring is here!  Can we go play in the sandbox?"  I am happy to say, it's 9:30 and I've had my coffee, lost a game of Twister and now I just might get dressed and enjoy some fresh air.