Little People with Chocolate Toes

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." - Charles M. Schulz

I just walked in the door and realized that I have chocolate cake smeared on the right arm of my cream-colored jacket. Hayden, my cousin Nikki’s youngest of four celebrated his first birthday today. As tradition would have it, he was given a massive chocolate cake to do with as he pleased. It was really too cute. After the cake massacre, I held Hayden in my cream-colored jacket without a second thought of his cute chocolate fingers and toes. I wondered why we only get to experience this cake explosion when we turn one.

My cousins have lots of little ones. I have 21 first cousins on my mom’s side of the family. Of the 21, 8 have a combined 21 children. So in my world, any normal family function consists of lots of kids running around in dresses, little suits and costumes laughing, screaming, fighting, smiling and yelling, “Mom…he touched me!” The kids rule. Today, I taught my little second girl cousins to say “namaste.” They were balloon princesses on a mission to share love and compassion throughout the world…or at least at Nana’s house. So they would run up to me, bow with hands in prayer and murmur namaste or mamaste or lamaste and then run out into their world and give kisses.

After the one year-old celebration, I met my buddy Howard. We ate cheese, drank some wine and chatted about life. At the end of this day, I am grateful. I am grateful for the people in my life: chocolate-toes Hayden, balloon princesses, my aunt whose grandchildren call her Nana and my bud Howard. No matter what our gunas are doing at any given moment, we might consider the people in our lives and how they impact us. It is huge and it is small. Especially balloon princesses and little people with chocolate toes.