The Golden Ball
" A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove... but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child." ~ Anonymous
We were shopping in one of those mega stores the other night, you know the ones, floor to ceiling stocked with all of the items you see that you have to have on tv. The lighting is appealing, the smell of the place is appealing, the layout of things is appealing, it feels like a panacea to all things that are wrong in the world when you are in this type of store. I'm wise to these places though, and I had already briefed my husband, daughter and aunt when we hit the parking lot. "We are going in for our coffee brand, the holiday special ones, and nothing else. It will be a quick operation, don't be lured by all of the stuff in the aisles." I said.
That worked for about fifteen minutes. We rounded the candle corner, (which smelled like fresh baked cookies, darned them), and found our coffee. We loaded our arms and started to walk away when a cute, chipper salesgal brought us an oversized shopping cart. "You'll want this for all of that coffee", she said. My inner voice was screaming, "NO!", because free hands can pick up more stuff, but the glimmer in the eyes of my husband, daughter and aunt as they dropped the boxes of coffee showed that it was obvious they could care less about my inner voice.
So shop we did. Deeper into the store we went, where the riches of all the things we don't need were so abundant. The new bedding, the soft towels, the knickknacks and pictures and goodness no, the quotes in frames. We were three fourths of the way out of the store when we came upon a display of oversized bouncy balls. Immediately, my husband and daughter began bouncing them. The box did say it would bounce up to 50 feet, and I saw my husband judge the ceiling height and deem it possible, so bounce they did. The minute the balls began to climb, the chorus of "We have to have one" began. I was doomed. So I waited. Maybe if they would bounce them here in the store they would get it out of their system and see the ridiculous nature of wanting to buy a $7 ball. maybe if I stood here long enough they would return those balls to the display case and we could get out with the original purchase plan in tact.
Maybe, I thought, (as I stood there trying to be patient) maybe I should just grab the one with the golden glitter in it and start bouncing it myself. In the middle of the display sat this beautiful hand sized ball with golden glitter and liquid inside. The glitter all settled to the bottom, it just begged to be played with. So I bounced. As I bounced the ball the glitter shook and danced and shined and the ball just sang with beauty.
We bought five balls, one for each child's stocking and one for each of our offices, my husbands and mine. Mine , surprise, is the gold one.
The golden ball sits on my desk for those moments when I need to think. It bounces well while I sit in my chair, when I throw it in the air and spin it, the glitter shines. It is therapeutic, it is glorious, it is fun!
Several days ago, when work ran late into the evening and I had lost track of time, my youngest child came into my office and quietly picked up the golden ball. Without me knowing, he laid on the floor next to my desk and rolled the ball to my feet. Once it hit my ankle I looked down and then over to realize that he lay there, with puppy dog eyes and a wry smile.
Without a word, I rolled the ball back. For a glorious undetermined amount of time, I played ball with the baby of the family. We laughed, we talked, we tried to outwit each other, all the while keeping the golden ball shining. When he was done, he stood up, came to my chair and gave me a really big hug. Then just as quickly as he came in he put the ball down and he walked out.
There will always be days when the original plan is the best one to stick to. There will always be days when a schedule is a good thing and staying on track is necessary. But the beauty of it all lies in the ability to take a break, enjoy the moment, seize the opportunity, be there for those you love and for goodness sakes ~ Play.
The golden ball, and the baby of the family, they are calling for me ~ and today, that is really what matters most.......
We were shopping in one of those mega stores the other night, you know the ones, floor to ceiling stocked with all of the items you see that you have to have on tv. The lighting is appealing, the smell of the place is appealing, the layout of things is appealing, it feels like a panacea to all things that are wrong in the world when you are in this type of store. I'm wise to these places though, and I had already briefed my husband, daughter and aunt when we hit the parking lot. "We are going in for our coffee brand, the holiday special ones, and nothing else. It will be a quick operation, don't be lured by all of the stuff in the aisles." I said.
That worked for about fifteen minutes. We rounded the candle corner, (which smelled like fresh baked cookies, darned them), and found our coffee. We loaded our arms and started to walk away when a cute, chipper salesgal brought us an oversized shopping cart. "You'll want this for all of that coffee", she said. My inner voice was screaming, "NO!", because free hands can pick up more stuff, but the glimmer in the eyes of my husband, daughter and aunt as they dropped the boxes of coffee showed that it was obvious they could care less about my inner voice.
So shop we did. Deeper into the store we went, where the riches of all the things we don't need were so abundant. The new bedding, the soft towels, the knickknacks and pictures and goodness no, the quotes in frames. We were three fourths of the way out of the store when we came upon a display of oversized bouncy balls. Immediately, my husband and daughter began bouncing them. The box did say it would bounce up to 50 feet, and I saw my husband judge the ceiling height and deem it possible, so bounce they did. The minute the balls began to climb, the chorus of "We have to have one" began. I was doomed. So I waited. Maybe if they would bounce them here in the store they would get it out of their system and see the ridiculous nature of wanting to buy a $7 ball. maybe if I stood here long enough they would return those balls to the display case and we could get out with the original purchase plan in tact.
Maybe, I thought, (as I stood there trying to be patient) maybe I should just grab the one with the golden glitter in it and start bouncing it myself. In the middle of the display sat this beautiful hand sized ball with golden glitter and liquid inside. The glitter all settled to the bottom, it just begged to be played with. So I bounced. As I bounced the ball the glitter shook and danced and shined and the ball just sang with beauty.
We bought five balls, one for each child's stocking and one for each of our offices, my husbands and mine. Mine , surprise, is the gold one.
The golden ball sits on my desk for those moments when I need to think. It bounces well while I sit in my chair, when I throw it in the air and spin it, the glitter shines. It is therapeutic, it is glorious, it is fun!
Several days ago, when work ran late into the evening and I had lost track of time, my youngest child came into my office and quietly picked up the golden ball. Without me knowing, he laid on the floor next to my desk and rolled the ball to my feet. Once it hit my ankle I looked down and then over to realize that he lay there, with puppy dog eyes and a wry smile.
Without a word, I rolled the ball back. For a glorious undetermined amount of time, I played ball with the baby of the family. We laughed, we talked, we tried to outwit each other, all the while keeping the golden ball shining. When he was done, he stood up, came to my chair and gave me a really big hug. Then just as quickly as he came in he put the ball down and he walked out.
There will always be days when the original plan is the best one to stick to. There will always be days when a schedule is a good thing and staying on track is necessary. But the beauty of it all lies in the ability to take a break, enjoy the moment, seize the opportunity, be there for those you love and for goodness sakes ~ Play.
The golden ball, and the baby of the family, they are calling for me ~ and today, that is really what matters most.......
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