Exuberance

Isn’t it an added surprise when two things fall out of a vending machine instead of one? It feels like a bonus, like something right is going on in the universe…a child-like version of winning the lottery.

Maddi and I went to the YMCA this morning and she discovered a lone dollar in my pocket. All smiles she asked if we could buy a treat. I caved. There is something about a little girl in braids and a dashing dimple that makes it difficult to say no.

I tried to convince her to select a granola bar, she wanted the chewy Sweet Tarts. We watched as the item holder started to spiral for the candy to fall out. It seemed to be going ultra slow and I was nervous it would stop before letting the candy drop. Instead, the opposite occurred, rotating twice to allow two bags to fall.

Maddi couldn’t believe her small fortune. Her eyes looked like the pastel candy itself as she told me, “Jordan is going to be really proud of me!  Now I have one for me and one for him!”

We went to the front desk to tell them what happened and the assistant told Maddi, “It’s your lucky day.”

Maddi agreed, nodding while she talked, “It was a very special dollar because it gave us two!”

She could barely wait to tell her brother what happened when he got off the bus. She gave him a big hug and said, “I have a really good surprise for you…it’ a treat!”

I watched her exuberance. The joy in receiving and the joy in sharing. And it was better than getting two things out of a vending machine. It was an uplifting surprise to my day…my own sweet bonus.

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