Smiling to the point where my cheeks hurt!

I was walking on sunshine today. It was a great day. I have been having a very rewarding week. I am so lucky to be volunteering at my youngest son's day camp. I, a long with my daughter, am helping out in the hospitality department. Every morning, we help prep food for the volunteers and help run the snow cone machine to make some three hundred plus snow cones. It is fast-paced and busy work, but it is fun! I love to see us doing things together, especially when it is worthwhile and character building. My daughter is great. She really is. I had her when I was really young. She is a teenager now. She does very well in school and is no trouble at all. She is sweet and down-to-earth. She has a great spirit and big heart. Unfortunately, she loves to just lounge when she has nothing else to do. She loves to stay home and watch t.v. or surf the net. Luckily, she is not typical a teenager with her phone habits!
It drives me nuts that she does not do more activities, like running or swimming. I like to keep moving and I hate to see inactivity, especially when it comes to my kids, so I volunteered her to work alongside us at the day camp. She has really shone. When she is given work to do, she does really well and she finds it rewarding. It is just trying to encourage the "initiative gene" to come out in her that is taking some time. I hope it comes out soon. She is really good and could be amazing if she applies herself more. I told her that being well-behaved and smart can only get you so far, but applying some good old fashioned elbow grease and determination will get you farther in this life. It is true.
The highlight of our day is seeing my youngest son running around at day camp. He is truly a joy for all of us to watch. He is so full of life and my daughter loves to see him and his friends come up to us. She is so proud of her little brothers. It has been such a great experience helping out and letting him know that we are there to support him. He really gets a kick out of seeing us serving him and his friends snow cones or walking around. He points us out with pride and a huge smile on his face. There are so many joys in life that come in many different packages at different places in your life. These are the days for me to bask in the wonder of my children as they find their way in this world, while still experiencing the simple joys and magic found only in childhood experiences.