Musings: Giving Joy To My Inner Child

I am not in the least bit embarrassed to admit that I acknowledge my inner child and frequently allow her to come out and play!!  I love blowing bubbles and reading fairy stories.  I often watch the movies The Secret Garden, The Chronicles of Narnia, Fairy Tale – A True Story, and The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns.

When I watched the first Harry Potter movie I fell in love with the scene where the character Hagrid takes Harry to buy his first magic supplies.  As they walked through that brick wall into Diagon Alley, I SO wanted to be able to go there, or at least someplace like it.  I want to own a bag of fairy dust, and it takes all my willpower not to get in line to go into Santa land in the Mall at Christmas:-).

So last night as we prepared to say goodbye to 2009 I found myself with my husband in St. Augustine, Florida.  To be more precise we were on Anastasia Island.  (Just the name Anastasia gets me tingling with excitement as I remember the Disney movie of that name.  Uh-ho, did I mention Disney……….!!)  I walked with childlike anticipation to the pier where they were holding a New Year event.

Christmas lights lit up the whole area and I had to push my hands deep in my pockets because I so wanted to clap in delight and do pirouettes.  There were lots of food stalls, but there were also various stalls that sold all those magical flashing light things that kids so love.  I desperately wanted a pair of pink and violet flashing bunny ears and at least two or three of those tubular necklaces with the running flashing lights inside them!

I managed to contain myself by watching all the kids have fun with their “stuff” and living my childlike dreams vicariously through them.  After walking around some, Rich and I went over to the boardwalk and staked out our spot for the firework display.  As if to add to the magic of the evening a “blue moon” tried hard to show itself from behind a dense cloud cover. 

As 8.30pm rolled around I could feel the butterflies in my stomach just dancing all over the place.  Suddenly the big lights were dimmed and almost immediately with a flash and a bang the show began.  Nothing and no one stopped me from clapping in delight now.  The sky lit up with golden rain, purple, pink, and green flashes, rockets racing high up into the sky and exploding into huge, bright orbs of multi colors.

I know my eyes were wide, my mouth was open.  I was caught up in the sheer magic of the moment.  It was as though the hand of some gigantic goddess was splashing glittering paint across the sky and I was mesmerized!  In some day-bright moments the sea could be seen roiling on the rocks below us, and we heard the sizzling of the foam as the waves crashed over each other creating an orchestrated accompaniment to the dazzling show above.

All too soon it was over.  The sky turned dark once more and the sea was just a murky movement below us.  The crowds dispersed and all that was left of the glorious light display was the acrid smell of sulfur that hung in the air.  But my little girl went home very, very happy.  And if I want to relive the moment I can always watch the great video that Richard made of the whole show!