Une Envie de Sel

Three years. Only three. Three whole years of a life.
How many petals of this life still to unfold. How many layers, how many colors and shades, dark and light, clear and blurred, joyful and painful.
If I had one wish to give her, it would be that she should be able to preserve a large measure of this joy, this wonder that she has in such profusion right now. Sure, you lose innocence. But then, is innocence such a terrible thing to lose? There's no earthly need to lose that wonder and joy in life, because life in its essence is more than worthy of all this wonder and joy.
May she keep it.
That is my wish for her.

One of the greatest gifts my own mother has given to me throughout life is to tell me time and again, at each new stage of each of our lives, that it just keeps getting better. She has shared her wonder and joy at each new stage of her own life (though my mother is a pragmatist, and she does not sugarcoat the harsh parts). She expresses her pleasure in life freely and clearly. That has given me something to look forward to - a reason to look ahead with joy and expectation. Thanks to her, I look forward to being 60 as much as I looked forward to being 30. That was a great gift that she gave me, one of the greatest, and I hope to pass that on to my daughter as well.