wee me
the other night i was watching tv and chatting with my roommate when we were suddenly distracted by an ad featuring jubilant children wearing pajamas and slippers running down the stairs, squealing, and diving into easter baskets. against a backdrop of bright colors and cheerful music, a series of individual tots then began popping up to extol the wonder and magic of the holiday:
“ooh! look at THIS little piece of crunchy choc-o-late!” exclaimed one little munchkin as he unearthed a piece of candy from the piles of plastic grass and all but jumped off the ground in excitement.
this ad aired several times throughout the night, and i really should have grown tired of it like any self-respecting adult would do. instead, each time i saw those slippered feet scampering down that staircase, i all but clapped my hands.
why was i so intrinsically enamored? certainly part of it can be explained by the uncontrollable hormonal responses i’ve recently been experiencing each time i see a small child.
(i should really get a puppy.)
or perhaps i was romanced by the nostalgia they were selling; it’s easy to get caught up in memories of my own childhood of running down the stairs, following a jelly bean trail left by the easter bunny leading straight to my own glorious basket full of crunchy choc-o-late.
(i really do love choc-o-late.)
but it was so much more than that; what struck me about the ad was the unfiltered emotion on each one of those glowing faces, and the transparency with which they expressed it.
a little girl sat on a stool grinning with her basket in her lap and, swinging her legs, she threw out her arms and said, almost in disbelief, “i’m just so HAPPY right now!”
and i thought, yes! yes you are and yes i am and can i join you in that joy?
and how?
frederick buechner, the great writer and my personal hero, often advises to “follow your feet.” because, he says “if you want to know who you really are, as distinct from who you like to think you are, keep an eye on where your feet take you.”
a child running down the stairs in her slippers to chase after easter candy left by a magical bunny? is this what it comes to? am i longing to run after all that is pretty and sweet and pastel in an attempt to reclaim my innocence and naivete? not quite. it’s less about the object of belief and more about the depth of faith that it took to experience life as a child with so much wonder. it’s about the pursuit of the belief that something miraculous has occurred.
and with that, i slip on my fuzzy slippers.
and i follow my feet.
