Holiday Cheer

Tomorrow is New Year’s Day, and for all intents and purposes, the holidays are over. So is another year. Every year I try to create memories for my kids and with my kids. Sometimes I go through elaborate plans and spend exorbitant amounts of money to accomplish this. I can’t figure out how or why, but usually, in spite of my best efforts, some of my favorite memories happen randomly, spontaneously without any money or effort. Here’s my best example from this year:
We went to our ward Christmas party. It was a Polar Express theme, and Conductor/Bishop handed out a little jingle bell on a ribbon to every person as they walked in the door. Hundreds of kids, thousands of kids, ran here and then, some screaming, some laughing, some hanging on their parent’s arm, some waiting for Santa Claus, some filling their plates with yet another pile brownies/cookies/cakes/pastries from the dessert table. There was one boy—I don’t even know who it was—who made the night for me.
Steve went into the boy’s bathroom during the evening, and came back chuckling. He said in the stall next to him was a little boy, probably no more than three years old, with his pants down around his sneakers, and while he sat, legs dangling, he shook his little bell and sang Jingle Bells at the top of his voice. It was spontaneous celebration, purely without plan or money. It was pure Christmas joy. We laughed about it the rest of the night, and still when it comes to mind I have to stop for a minute and laugh to myself. All season long I kept wishing I could celebrate with that kind of spontaneous joy.
Now Christmas is over, and we turn our minds instead to our New Year’s resolutions. I keep going back to that little boy in the bathroom stall taking a private moment to vocalize his excitement. I realized when I sat down to set my resolutions, that’s what I want out of the new year. I don’t plan to sing in any public bathroom stalls, but I do want to develop the ability to experience spontaneous joy.
May we all be better at becoming like a little child, and let the proverbial bathroom stalls ring with joy.