2010 MCDONALDS TOYS

As a child we are able to see so differently than adults. The sunshine will see them leaping and dancing, parks are a place to pretend a whole new world, and dandelions are fairy dust...

Children have this wonderful ability to be in the moment and create fun from the most mundane of things. A big empty box? Now you've got a spaceship! A bag of cotton balls? Snowball fight! A pile of rocks? Mysterious eggs with unknown creatures! Their imagination and creativity is so spontaneous. They show us how little it really takes to be happy and that pleasure can be wrought from the simplest of things.

Here, my little one is enjoying the delights of her summer wardrobe... even though she must compromise with tights and comfy shoes. And enjoying the delights of nature and her imagination. We were doing a bit of gardening today and she came across a very smooth and oval rock... suddenly we had a special new pet... "Eggie". Eggie traveled with us for the afternoon and got to share in the delights of fairy dust in hopes it would help him to grow and get ready to come out of his shell. As I look back on this moment yesterday, I remember how much fun she was having, rubbing those fluffy seeds on her
"egg" and explaining to me how this magic was supposed to work. Of course I was distracted by trying to get a good shot, nice lighting, background, etc...to really enjoy the moment with her.

When I saw this photo, it all came back to me, though. Her laughter, her jumping from flower to flower, how carefully she carried that little rock around and all the plans she wa making for a little house, a bed, wondering what kind of baby might pop out of this "egg".

Happiness is all around us, if we just open our eyes to see it. It doesn't require big trips, fancy clothes or expensive toys. Simple things can show us beauty and joy... just take a moment to watch a child and they move in the world around you. Give them the opportunity and they will find delight in whatever is around them.

...but then, I suppose, I was so much smaller.

Wow, that's sort of depressing.

Prime was always a favorite, and he was one of the few expensive toys I had as a kid. I really, really loved him and was heart-broken when he died in "Transformers the movie". As cheesy as it seems to identify this heavily with a cartoon character, I never had a good relationship with my father, and prime was kind of a substitute role model for me. Luckily, you can't keep a good toy down, and Prime returned in the series shortly after the feature film.

This is the new 25th Anniversary version, a reissue of the original in a slightly altered color scheme to more closely match the cartoon. It sort of floors me that a character I looked up to so much as a mighty hero in my childhood now literally fits in the palm of my hand as an adult.

I'm gonna go listen to "The Touch" now.