you light up my life

We have been blessed to celebrate Zain's birthday the last two years at the beach. This past year he absolutely had his whole heart set on going to the beach at night to play with glow sticks. So late in the evening after a full day of his bidding, the lot of us piled into the car and headed towards Seaside, armed with near a hundred glow sticks.

The littles were antsy with excitement as Kaleb and I sat under a beautifully constructed pavilion, the sky black with just a light sprinkling of stars overhead, cracking sticks til they glowed bright with oranges, yellows and pinks.

As we worked, gradually a crowd trickled in. Other children began gathering around hoping to join in our little party. Overcome with the joy of it, my bugs began handing out their glowsticks to bystanders, small infants in carseats, toddlers in sand filled diapers. Literally chasing down kiddos, to hand them one single glowstick, simply so they could also delight in their fun.

Kaleb and I did manage to convince them to keep a few for themselves so they could live out their dream. We ran to the beach with our remaining glowsticks. We twirled, had a mini dance party, played catch and finally when the time had come to an end, we drifted our way back to land.

We crossed the street to finish the day out with a deliciously cool snocone. There they met other children, busy workers, and tired parents, who obviously needed a glow stick too. Finally having given away every single one of their treasures, we left Seaside with a stream of colorful lights popping up all over town. My wee bugs floating on a high from their evening and me with tears in my eyes, and thankfulness in my heart. These wild ones understand that love is at the heart of it all, they truly get it, and to be a part of that, to share in the joy of their world is a beautiful privilege.