I was at Ruckle Farm Days on Sunday afternoon and couldn't help but notice the kids runnning around playing with the bunnies and the goats and sheep.
They were learning how to do some blacksmithing, cutting wood with one of those back and forth saw blades, and just sitting in the grass talking to each other. I couldn't help but think how wonderful it must be to be a child in the country, (not a teenager, but a child).
It was one little boy in particular who made me stop and think that. He's usually at the market because his mom sells these really great monster dolls which she does using what she calls soft sculpture.
He's about 8 or 9 years old and he has this quality to him that's so innocent and sweet because he's a little shy, a little hesitant but really keen and interested at the same time.
My booth was beside theirs one day and he was selling his paintings and I was talking to him about his artwork. A friend bought one of his paintings and gave him $5 and he was SOOOOOOOOOOO happy, clutching that $5.00 bill and smiling because someone had bought one of his paintings.
I saw him run past me at the farm with a little skip and I could feel how happy he was in his own little world; his happiness was palpable and it couldn't help but make me smile and feel really happy for him, and for me because I got to be there too. There was just something about his little skip, the look on his face, the lightness of his body in full motion that seemed to capture for that couple of seconds the joy of being a kid out in the fresh air, exploring, in the country.
These bunnies were on a table courtesy of the 4H club.