Chuckles

If we had school pictures, this would be his. I had to crop out his feet because he couldn’t stop moving them and they were just a blur of motion at the bottom of the picture. Being just a blur of motion is pretty par for the course for Chuckles. He’s just moving, moving, moving all the time. It’s hard to get him to stop long enough to go to sleep. And several times a week, he still wakes up in the middle of the night. I think life is just too exciting and open for him to be able to miss a moment by sleeping. This is why there are dark circles under his eyes… and part of the reason there are dark circles under ours as well. But that sense of adventure and curiosity? It’s captivating.

Chuckles is so completely alive. Part of it is being two years old. Part of it is just him. Every emotion is felt deeply and displayed dramatically. From his infectious laughter to his tearful indignation when he cannot, as he wishes, have cookies for breakfast, it’s just all out there. 100% real. He’s happier more often than anything else and the way that he so deeply feels joy… it radiates out of him and lights up a room.

Now that he’s talking more he cracks me up all the time. His new favorite thing to say? “Not wight now.” You ask him to clean something up and he says, “Not wight now, maybe waiter.” Also anything that he doesn’t happen to like, he hates. No middle ground for Chuckles- he’s all in or he’s all out.

I love this kid because he’s adorable and funny and mine but also because he’s inspiring to watch. There is nothing he doesn’t want to figure out, nothing he doesn’t want to explore. And he believes that he is limitless. The most frustrating part of any day for him is when his attempts to do something have failed. He truly doesn’t understand that he can’t just do anything he wants, out of sheer force of will.

But isn’t that how we should all be? I wish that I had more of his bravery. His ability to fling himself into a task and try something… even if it means failing. Or falling. Because when he attempts things, more often than not, he ends up succeeding. I need more of that attitude in my own life. What would the world be if we were all a little more like that?

I mean, not the part of the I-can-do-it attitude that causes him to jump off the back of the couch landing on a toy and cutting his face (I photoshopped that injury out). I don’t want broken legs and faces everywhere. But curiosity- yes. Seeking out adventure- I’m in. Attempting something new without fear of failure- let’s do it.

 

Who’s inspiring you today?