A Child's Laughter

The little girl and her momma were just close enough that I could hear her laughing as she ran ahead. From across the pond, I could hear her constant stream of giggles, brightening my day as the two of them rushed back to where daddy was fishing and waiting for breakfast at the park.

I was lost in thought, studiously not thinking about the tennis match for which I waited, when the giggling stopped. Almost without looking up, I knew to expect the crying to start. Sure enough, she was tummy-down on the road, lifting up and looking back at her mommy, winding up for a good one.

It's inevitable, isn't it? Giggling and excitement and risk are followed by tears. But it's inevitable in a good way. No amount of money or peace could make me wish that little girl hadn't giggled her way ahead of her mommy and toward her daddy, even if it meant she had to cry, too.

It's called living, and I'm for it.