Dear Joy/Joyzers/Doodle Bop/Toodles/Sweetheart/Darling,
I have so many names for you lately. You have so many for yourself. I called you a princess several days ago, and you insisted you are NOT a princess. I then went through a list of pet names for you. You shot them all down. Not a princess. Not a cheerleader (something you had agreed you were just a day or two before). Not my sunshine. Not my darling. Not my sweetheart. So many things you sometimes are, that day you were not. Jokingly, I asked if you were a penguin. That was the first thing I'd thrown out you agreed with. Joy Penguin you became and insisted I call you all day long. You've even brought it up a few days since. The other day, you were Cheerleader Joy Penguin the Super Hero. Quite a lot of responsibility you heaped on your own shoulders with that one!
You bring so much light and laughter into my life. I love experiencing the world anew through your eyes. Your imagination has added sparks to my own. I like your world.
Sometimes I wish I could give you more. I wish I could be more. I wish I could give you the world. But you, wisely, know that the world is already yours. Everything good about it is at your fingertips. And you, wisely, leave all that is undesirable behind. The simplicity with which you live and the focus you give to fun, laughter, and enjoyment remind me of what is important. This is something I need to remember and cling to when life gets tough.
I love you, Joy Penguin!
Mom
