Thursday, July 1, 2010

Lathery Bouffants, Sitting in the Sink and Baby Animals

As I was washing my hair this morning I got a little carried away with the soap. I had so much lather that my hair was staying wherever I moved it. Like when we were kids and we didn't want to rinse the soap out just yet. We needed to make shampoo mohawks and spikes and fish tails. I piled my hair on top my head in a soapy bundle and giggled remembering the days of hour long baths with tug boats, water toys and Mr. Bubble.

I started reading a book that my friend sent me yesterday and the opening line begins with her sitting in the sink, just part of her in the sink. So we are clear, the character not my friend. She goes on to talk about how inspiring it is to sit somewhere you've never sat before. I thought this was so funny because as a kid I loved to sit on the counter or in odd places or wash my feet in the sink. There was just something fun and different about it.

Brooks was home yesterday at lunch time and we were having a late brunch and watching the news. They were doing a piece on zoos around Australia, particularly the zoo in Melbourne. Right now there are several baby animals and they were showing the baby elephant, Mali, romping around clumsily playing in the dirt and rolling around in the water hole. She was just so awkwardly cute splashing in the water with her trunk, kicking her feet, running, stumbling, not caring who in the world was watching. There were baby tiger cubs wrestling and batting at each other tumbling in the grass together in a little tiger ball as their mother looked on with disinterest. And a baby giraffe. That's a big baby. They were all so cute and adorable and fun and it made me want to make a beeline for the zoo just to watch them play. I'm a sucker for baby animals. At the end of the piece that news lady said we should hurry and see them while they are still playful because "who knows how long it will last."

It struck me this morning as I was making shapes in my shampooed hair, just when do we lose that spirit of play? Maybe I'm the only one who gets lost in being an adult and being responsible. You know, paying the bills, checking off our lists, getting from here to there, planning for the future, living in the nitty gritty forgetting the kid who wants to play inside.

We are getting ready for a big conference here and last night was volunteer training. In the creative worship session the awe inspiring woman who was speaking encouraged the team not to get stressed because 'joy is our strength and nothing steals your joy like stress.' I thought she was right on the money with that statement. Nothing steals my joy like stress.

I understand we have things to tend to and we should pay our bills on time, plan and be responsible and all that, I know. But why not do it with a spirit of joy? Why not sit in a funny place to be inspired sometimes? Why not turn up the music and do a little dancing in the bathroom mirror while you fix your hair? Why not laugh at too much shampoo and make lathery bouffants? Why not I say, why not? Joy is our strength no matter what age we are.

"...for the joy of the LORD is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10