Joy to the World

After the girls were born our biggest concerns were health. Can they breath, is that jaundice, how bad is the cold, are they eating. Things related to their simple survival on this planet. Now, 4 days from the 8 month mark, the checklist has grown quite a bit, but not exclusivly in the health department. There are questions of are they smart for their age, are they social, are they to rough on the dog. You relax quite a bit on the bumps and bruises after the 20th face plant and focus more on these other, more difficult to measure concerns. My biggest concern after health is happiness. I take solace in the knowledge that my girls are so incredibly full of joy. I think that has such a direct effect on everything else and is too often over looked. A lot of people try and force joy by creating false situations and spoiling their children. They give them anything they want so that the child feels they are happy, they must be! They've got a happy meal, a go cart and a pony, what could be lacking? But I think true joy is at the same time easier and harder to obtain. It comes from the environment around them. Not they physical but the emotional. Is there happiness in the home? Is their laughter? Is there tension? These things bring out the joy, and I can see it in my girls. They aren't old enough yet to "want" anything. They need food and an occasional nap, other than that they're happier with the dogs toys then their own, and probably prefer to go with out cloths and jewelery. And despite the lack of "wants" they are so freakin' happy all the time. They laugh at us, they laugh at each other, they laugh at the cat, the dog, even the ceiling fan. If you are playing with one you can almost always look over and see the other watching you play and laughing right along with you. I don't know if all babies are this way, I'm limited in my few experiences. But this brings me joy. And I'm sure that becomes cyclical, my joy feeding theirs feeding mine. I hope this joy continues, because this is the one thing I truly wish on them in life. To be genuinaly happy for what ever amount of time God decides to give us on this rock. The rest of the needs and wants will follow.