Just Jump

On my walk a couple of days ago I spied a princess. She was probably around five years old and was dressed in hot pink. The bodice of her dress was sequined and skin tight on her tiny figure. The skirt, in contrast, consisted of layers of crinolines that literally surged up and down with every step she took. She was giggling. The grin she bore was her dominant feature and for good reason. Directly in front of her on the lawn of her family’s home was her castle. It was pink too, a perfect match to the child’s costume. It wasn’t a real castle, of course, but an inflated affair complete with rosy rubber towers topped with purple turrets at each corner and wide screen windows on each side. For the princess, though, this floppy fortress might as well have been the real thing and she entered with excitement to do one thing: to jump.

I watched her there, her little legs pumping, her arms flailing, and her ponytail flopping up and down with her antics. She was joined by a few other children, boys and girls, who jumped as high as they could, spinning in circles and launching sideways before springing back up to have another go around. It was a lovely scene.

I tried to get inside the little girl’s mind somehow to share her delight, and while that wasn’t quite possible, I understood the emotion. I’ve been that happy too at times and it’s nice to recall. I had a wish for the tiny princess that day, for this was obviously her birthday celebration. My wish was for her to have a perfect day and many more occasions in life when all she wanted to do was jump for joy.

Perhaps, if we try, all of us can summon a sweet memory to mirror the very essence of happiness that little girl embodied on her birthday. It’s probably worth the effort.

Think about it, and jump!