A quiet Saturday morning, Josh and I dropped Megan off at work, and headed to the local park. This park is particularly nice, as it has a walking path around the perimeter, and three play areas spread along the path. The path circles a lake, which is home to many fish, frogs, and fowl. Needless to say, one two year old, and one old cocker spaniel were in heaven. The temperatures read 90', so it was not miserable, but a breeze would have certainly been nice. As we walked around, and paused to sniff or play, I found an inner peace that had been lost for a while. Many things seemed to shift in perspective and priority. Life is too short to worry about bills, work, dust, laundry, and grudges. Life is about enjoying each moment the best that we can, appreciating the people in our lives, and overlooking the small stuff that can infect our happiness. This all seemed to be summed up in one brief encounter that occurred at the end of our walk around the park...Josh and Sable were walking in front of me, and Josh was chattering on, telling me about the ducks, the traffic, what Sable was doing, and I was half-listening, half-musing. I heard him say, "Mommy, man running!", and looked to see where he was pointing. Behind me was a man jogging along the path. I moved off the path to let him pass, and Josh watched as he approached. As he passed me, we exchanged greetings, and I looked in time to see Joshua start running down the path in front of the man, mimicking his arm posture and high step. The man burst into laughter, and jogged along side Josh briefly, and then went on to finish his run. The sparkle in Joshua's eye was electric and heartwarming. This man could have easily ran past Josh, and could have been annoyed by the small child running in his path. But he was kind, and took a moment to pay attention to that small child. It is moments like these that reinforce Joshua to say a nice "Hi" to people when they speak to him, and not be shy. The moment was brief, and not life changing for any of us, but nonetheless important. I hope that I can always appreciate the little moments like that one today...