: :Thoughts and Moments: :

I've decided I need more Carter moments in my life.

Carter moments? No, not Jimmy Carter. Baby Carter...he was one of the 1-year-olds I took care of at the daycare this summer. And I miss him a lot.

To put it simply, Carter was amazed by the littlest things in life. I would be playing with him, and I would pick up a little toy to give to him. Most times it was something as simple as a colored block. I would hold it in front of him and he would drop whatever he had been playing with and get such an expression of wonderment. "Whoa", he would softly say...it's really hard for me to describe in words his expression, but know that it was absolutely precious. This child could be so taken with something so ordinary; it amazed me.

And now thinking back to those small moments, being privileged to be with a beautiful child with an appreciation for the things in life, I want to become more like that. It's currently a goal of mine to stop and be amazed by things that aren't spectacular. Or even things that are, but are habitually passed by. Like a sunset, or the crisp, whiteness of a book's pages, or my smartphone. Just a thought, and a memory, and a goal...thank you, Carter.