She says “yay” when she means yes.
“Do you want to go outside?” “Yay!” “Do you know where your shoes are?” “Yay!” “Would you like some more grapes?” “Yay!” And when she figures something out – “ooohh Emmi yay!!” you’ll hear her exclaim to herself.
And I’m learning from her.
Learning to live with a bit more enthusiasm. (Re)learning to celebrate the little things. Learning to say “yes” (and then “yay”) - even when it means residual glitter glue on the table and flour all over the kitchen floors- especially when it means residual glitter glue on the table and flour all over the kitchen floors. Learning to vocalize my YAYs as I cheer for others. Learning to vocalize my YAYs as I cheer for myself. Learning to be a joy-maker, and thinking that maybe a good place to start is with three little letters: Y-A-Y.
It seems like a small thing. A small thing that I know she’ll outgrow sooner than I’d like.
But the truth is that our words really do matter. So I can choose to say “yes” or I can choose to say “yay!” And maybe it’s just semantics, but I have an inkling it’s a bit more. For our words control our thoughts and they impact our tone. I can only imagine the celebration in our home if I replace even half of my “yes”es with sincerely enthusiastic “yay”s and if every time I think “you go girl!” - about my daughter, or my friends, or a stranger, or myself- I actually say it out loud.
I want to be a joy-maker, and a people-celebrator, and a life-enthusiast, and maybe, just maybe, a small shift in my language can lead to a shift in my heart. And maybe then the mundane becomes exciting, and the people around me become celebrated, and my heart? I have a feeling that it will become even more full.
So here’s to running through life with a bit more celebration of the everyday “yay!” (and continuing to do so long after she’s started saying “yes”) #lessonsfromlittleones #kindcom
Yay- used to express joy, approval, or excitement.
