In the elevator of my local grocery store, a mother and her young son were already waiting for the doors to close. As I stepped in, the boy, not more than three or four years old, stepped back, toward the full shopping cart the mother was holding onto. I thought he might hit his head on the cart’s handlebars, but he fit neatly just below them. Both the mother and I smiled, and I said, “He fits perfectly now, but I bet he’ll soon be taller than the handlebars, won’t he?”

She laughed and smiled, “Oh, he’s growing up so fast.”

We rode down to the ground floor, and the mother and son and I got off. I lost track of them while I shopped, but when I returned to the elevator bank, she and he were waiting once again for the elevator, the cart still full of groceries. We exchanged smiles again as the doors opened and we got onto the elevator. We rode up one floor and the doors opened again. I moved my arm to hold the door so that the mother could move her cart out, but her son’s cheery voice stopped me.

“Let’s do it again! Again!”

The mother smiled, a little weary this time, and sighed. “All right. One more ride. But only one more.”

I laughed.  Despite the full shopping cart and frayed patience, the mother was going to allow her son, fascinated with riding in an elevator, one more ride.

How often do we take a simple thing like an elevator ride for granted?

Moreover, how can we find delight, joy, and pleasure in even the most minute things in our lives?

That little boy’s delight, his glee, and his mother’s kindness – More of that in all of our lives, please!

Blessings for the day,

Maureen