I love my daughters!  I have been blessed with two:  Gracie 10 and Hope 5!  I want them to be happy and I do everything that I can to try to help them to discover how to be happy regardless of the circumstances of life.

Today, I took them out shopping.  We were on a mission to find a western belt and belt buckle for Grace and a Halloween shirt for Hope!  Of course, when we started looking at belts for Grace, we also had to try to find one for Hope!  The only problem is the size difference!  We tried on belt after belt!  One would look like it would do the trick and then when we got it on – too big!  Mission Accomplished on the belt for Gracie, but failure on the belt for Hope!

We were then off to another store to try to find the Halloween shirt for Hope.  Again – no luck!  To make matters worse, Hope was getting tired and when she gets tired, she does the silly dance which involves a sequence of rolling around on the floor, something similar to what I remember seeing the Solid Gold dancers do when I was a mere lad!  Of course, we were in Wal-Mart, so it was no big deal, just part of the atmosphere, but this redneck Dad was getting a little frustrated at this point.  We did not find the shirt for Hope – we ran out of time.

On our way back out to the truck, I could feel my nerves about to overload and then I thought about how much I love my girls and my frustration disappeared and my nerves settled and I decided right then and there with my two girls in the parking lot, that I would do the happy dance too!  Got a few weird looks, a couple of grins and a really big smile from a lady missing her front tooth!

In the truck on the way back home, I kept thinking about how I could have lost it!  I wanted to lose it, but I didn’t.  If I had lost it, then I would have missed it!  Missed what?   A very cool experience with my girls.  An experience that helped me to understand that in so many ways they are just like me, the me I used to be, before I became such a serious-minded adult!

What I learned today:  Loosen up!  Enjoy life, have some fun and share some laughs.  Hope you can loosen up, enjoy life, have some fun and share some laughs today!