Joie de Vivre

I've said it before, and I'll say it again and again. I wish I could bottle up the joy that Mila carries around with her so I could hand it over to other people when they need it.

She is just so damn magical.

Easter is SO AWESOME, per Mila, which makes sense because candy shows up and things get hidden and what's not to like about Easter if you're 3-feet tall and made of joie de vivre? She spent the week leading up to Easter talking about how excited she was. Of course expectations were exceeded because the Easter Bunny is highly motivated by that happy little person.

Speaking of the Easter Bunny, he brings a very special gift every year. Somehow, urban legend has grown over the years and there's this thing where nobody is allowed to wake me up on Easter morning? Don't ask me. I don't know how it became a thing. I just know that both girls believe it with all of their hearts. So, Mila wakes up, sees Easter eggs in plain view (the Easter Bunny can't hide things for real because these particular children can't find their own heads while they're attached to their necks), and has to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

What? You thought I would be considerate and wake up early for the girls? Yeah ... no. Alexis in particular has spent a good portion of her life waking me up for no reason so I will absolutely make her wait for HOURS one day per year. Revenge, y'all. Revenge. I believe in it.

That means Mila has time to walk around the house and spot as many eggs as she can. By the time I do wake up and roll out of bed, she is BURSTING and ... it's the best. She floods the world with words and rambling and so much excitement. And then I tell her she can GO! and start collecting them and it's such a hurricane of chaos.

And then comes the basket hunting. Again, these particular children can't find ANYTHING, even when highly motivated by chocolate, so it's a whole production. Mila is still little enough that the Easter Bunny thinks it shouldn't be too terribly difficult, so she'll walk past an OBVIOUS bulge in the curtains or bump in a misplaced blanket or some other nonsense. She eventually wins the game and then explodes with joy as she discovers the little things tucked into the basket.

Peeps, man. I still say they aren't food, but my children disagree. Mila thinks they are the ultimate in Easter treats. This year she HUGGED the Peeps. HUGGED them.

Alexis is old enough that the Easter Bunny gets a bit more creative in hiding her basket. This year it took her over two hours to find it, which was HILARIOUS because she was pissed and annoyed and frustrated and Mila was absolutely enjoying every second of the torture. She's an evil little thing at times, so she legit taunted her sister with, "Oh, you don't have your basket yet? I have mine," and "Wow, maybe you don't have one because you were mean to me," and it was fantastic. She laughed and cackled and really, I wish I could bottle up some of that joy.

Get you a Mila. It's worth all of the frustration because every once in a while, you get to swim in joie de vivre.