Discovering Joy in ALL Situations.

One week ago I had to put Nya in her very first time out. Ever since then, she has been back to her happy and cooperative self (although she still tests my limits!).

Nya is a crazy little girl, that you wouldn't suspect by first looking at her. She definitely knows how to put on that polite, respectful demeanor, and she is naturally very observant. But confined to the walls of her home, she turns into the silliest, wildest child you could imagine. Her crazy ways are the highlight of my day, and I love seeing her personality develop.

These moments make getting through rough days so much easier. They remind me what's important, to not stress over the little things, and to find joy in every situation.

Tonight was no different.

At the end of dinner, Nya managed to spill the remainder of her dark red smoothie all over herself, her clothes, her cloth high chair she's been forced to eat from (I took her other one apart to clean and have no idea how to put it back together!), the cabinets, the bar stools, the floor, the walls, and Lexi.

After stripping her down and cleaning her up the best I could, I set to work on cleaning everything else. My dog isn't one to beg or eat food from the floor (strange, I know), but she is finally beginning to learn that Nya has the good stuff...and she just may like it.

As I called Lexi over to lick up the smoothie from the floor, Nya began growling at her while pushing her out of the way to lick it up herself. She was so ferocious and intimidating (or Lexi is just a big softie when it comes to Nya) that Lexi, my big German Shepherd, immediately retreated. Just wonderful.

When I finally got that mess cleaned up, I noticed Nya had helped herself into the hidden bin in the pantry that holds Lexi's "special treats". As I heard her excitedly shouting, "More!", I looked over to see her feeding treats to Lexi; one by one. When I realized just how many Lexi must have eaten, I told Nya, "That's all," to which she responded by dumping the ENTIRE bag onto the floor. Proud of herself, and oblivious to me, Nya clapped her hands while saying, "Yay!"

After I got that mess situated, Nya helped me pick up her toys and play kitchen, where I happened to find many of my pots and pans, utensils, and food from the fridge stockpiled in her kitchen cupboards. When did this happen?

After explaining to Nya that these items need to stay in the "big kitchen" we picked everything up and headed upstairs to get ready for bed. Finally.

As we were winding down from the bath, Nya took the opportunity to spin around...

and around...

and around in circles until she was falling over and bumping into walls.

She was giggling and squealing all the while as she toppled over like a drunk person, only to get back up and spin again.

While sometimes challenging, and definitely more time consuming, these are the moments I live for. No matter how bad a day I may be having, or what might be going on in life, I cannot help but smile and laugh alongside this beautiful, happy little girl as she discovers joy in the simplest of things.

She teaches me more about the importance of life more than I could ever imagine teaching her. And for that gift, I will always be forever grateful.

Life is too short, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly, and forgive quickly. ~ Unknown

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