the kids and i hid Easter eggs this afternoon. I've felt exhausted all day so I had to really muster the energy to participate as my children expected me to. Their joy is so raw and simplistic- they don't receive any reward for their finds- they just love the act of hiding then finding the eggs they worked hard to decorate. The third go around was Ben's turn to hide. As their were 31 eggs, I asked him if he would like my help- he feverishly declined, ushering me, instead, to the front yard with his siblings. About ten minutes later he commands that we return, as he was done securing the eggs in their secret locations. As I walked through the foyer, then the living room, I found myself amazed that I was not locating any of the eggs- it was what seemed to me to be the most challenging egg hunt of my lifetime. Ben just sat on the couch, feet up, watching us all scramble, confused and bewildered that only 4 of the 31 had been located. After about 10 or 15 minutes of this circus, Ben says he is going to give us clues by saying whether or not we were hot or cold. He then proceeds to exclaim that we were all so cold we were freezing. This despite us being in every corner of the living room, the place he claimed all the eggs were hidden. Well, a few minutes later, and he decides to reveal that there were some in the kitchen too (which was against the rules). So, Lily goes into the pantry where she discovers 27 of the 31 eggs, all dumped in the same location. I laughed so hard I started to pee, which is not really a complement to my third child's sense of humor as it is to the deterioration of my bladder muscles and my ever-growing uterus. Anyway, I thought, as I sat there, howling in hysterics, how wonderful it is to experience life right in the moment that it is happening, and see how deprived we all are when we focus on attaining greatness all the time. It really is about pure happiness and being able to laugh. God, it feels good.