The Deep Simplicity of Joy

 The Deep Simplicity of Joy

How fortunate I am
to be in a time and place
where I can open my eyes
to a smiley toddler
as a new day begins.
What shall we do?
Bike to the bottom
of the driveway and back?
Go to the library
for Story Time?
Head to the beach?
Oh, wait… it’s only April
and it’s raining.
Hmmm, that doesn’t matter…
Let’s go - we can do it all!
And so we do.
By beach time
it’s a gentle rain,
and only a little bit cold,
so we settle in to play by the shore.
I am mesmerized by
how he takes such care
in filling his bucket with sand
and dumping it into
the small pond we built.
Over and over and over again.
He fills, pours,
watches, and smiles.
I, too -
fill, pour, watch, and smile
at the deep simplicity
of the joy
this delightful boy
takes in
and gives out
each and every day.

Sarah Carlson
April 21, 2023