Handstands

I’m waiting for a coffee on a Saturday morning, standing next to the counter in a suburban shopping centre.

Around the corner comes a Mum with three spirited children. The impact of the small family on the shopping centre energy is palpable. The children are full of life, and the mother has her hands full as the little troupe, aged five, four and three, I estimate, engage with everything with energetic gusto.

‘No running’, Mum says to Mr 4, as a four-year-old energetic boy goes tearing past me.

Mum turns around to see the three-year-old walking slowly behind.

‘Come on’, she says to Mr 3, coaxing the littlest one to quicken his pace.

Distracted from the older members of the troupe for a few short moments, Mum turns around and sees Mr 4 doing a cool breakdance style handstand in the middle of the shopping centre floor.

‘No handstands’, Mum says.

She does not see the coolness in Mr 4’s handstand. 

Mr 3, however, is visibly impressed and cannot resist the call of acrobatics. His hands quickly reach for the floor.

His 3 year old body is not as coordinated as his older brother when it comes to handstands, but he manages to pull off a cartwheel crossed with a handstand.

Totally chuffed with himself, Mr 3 gives a whoop of delight and then breaks into a run, smiling broadly.

‘Come on let's go’, says Mum.

‘No handstands please’, she adds to no one in particular.

The children are already moving forward, and Mum meanders off after them, shepherding her little flock through the shopping centre.

It makes me smile as I see these little humans stepping into the joy of each moment, having fun for the sake of it. It reminds me of my own bundles of joy, not so little now but always my angels and always a reminder of the magnificence of life.

The Mum stops at the same shop as me for a coffee, and I’m snapped out of my daydream as the children bustle around her.

‘How old are they?’ I ask. The Mum confirms my estimate.

‘Good ages’, I say. ‘Mine are 9 and 11. Also good ages.’

We share some small talk about the disregard that children have for established protocol and ‘normal’ routine. Two people acknowledging their common experiences as parents. 

And then, coffee is served and we go our separate ways. I smile as I watch them disperse and recall the feeling as a father with young children enjoying special moments.

In a shopping centre.

In a car park.

In a park.

At a playground.

At the beach…

A collection of special moments, and I recall that life was lived with absolute passion.

I can feel the rising excitement, the inspiration and the magical energy that comes from watching and participating in the lives of little people.

The experience that fills each moment with ripe and ready enthusiasm.

A beautiful fresh perspective that comes from innocent excitement.

Life is good.

And with handstands, life is great.