It is a weird thing, but in the last week, our youngest has become completely obsessed about finding a coconut and drinking from it. She keeps saying that she had seen it on Gigantasaurous (a dinosaur TV series that she was was a huge fan of over a year ago), and for some reason started talking heaps about drinking from a coconut when we were on holiday down in Spain. Perhaps it was the hot weather and holiday lifestyle that triggered some sort of memory, and every restaurant that we went to, she was asking if she could have a coconut to drink out of with a straw! Weird girl...

... well, sadly enough, there were no coconuts for to drink from down in Spain. I'm not even sure that it is a Spanish thing at all... at least I know that definitely isn't a dinosaur thing, but I wasn't keen to break that bubble!

So, upon arrival back in the Netherlands, we had stopped by a supermarket to pick up some lunch... in between the flight and the train. It's a favourite of mine, for some reason the supermarket at Schiphol airport does some pretty awesome sushi, and my oldest one is a huge fan of sushi. Anyway, what did we see there but a drinking coconut!

So, for the whole trip from the airport all the way back home... our littlest one was cradling her beloved and much anticipated drinking coconut... being extra careful on changing trains and walking up the stairs... being a little less careful when balancing on a wall and rocks.

... but the sheer joy of finding that coconut! Wow, it is really something... and it got me thinking about how we should still be able as adults to find little moments of incredible joy in our lives... nothing big, but something that really keeps us alive! I suspect that many of us get distracted by something else... something that we think will bring back that sheer child-like joy, forever chasing something over the next hill, or the bigger number, or the respect and acknowledgement of others.. and missing the things that are sitting right in front of us, the things that will bring us the crazy joy!

I guess part of that is just being an adult... and when you are a child in a first-world country, you don't have to worry about some aspects of life, like where the next meal is coming from or anything like that! But, being an adult doesn't mean that we have to lose all that wonder and joy either!

... anyway, the flip side of finding such a huge simple treasure, is that perhaps the treasure doesn't live up to the expectation (or is that an adult way of thinking about things?). Well, in this case... the treasure lived completely up to expectation! I was a bit worried, but she ended up loving the coconut water that was inside... and after we smashed the coconut open, she even loved eating the coconut meat. I found the meat a bit dry... perhaps shaved on toasted oats or something like that would be nice... but just by itself, bleah... not for me!

... but yes, I always have to keep in mind that there is always something worth finding joy and wonder in! I actively try to do that in music (I see a lot of dead and jaded colleagues...), but I will see if I can manage to do that in everyday life as well! I try, I'm often finding odd things interesting or inappropriately humourous... but it is an easy spiral out of it if it is anything like musicians turning old and brittle! Always have to stay on my toes!

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