The Messy Bits

Yesterday, I went to my friends' son's birthday party. He turned one recently, and a bunch of friends and family members got together to celebrate. His dad made an awesome jungle animal themed cake (the top portion seen here...well, what is left of it anyway), and the excited one year old tore into it. As I was watching him go crazy with the bright green icing that left a sugar stained mustache on his adorable face and bright splotches of color on his shirt and pants, I thought about how much fun he must have been having.

As adults, we have learned the importance of image and outward appearance, but here was this little boy who did not care that his face was ridiculous or that his hands were gooped up with icing. A cake was placed in front of him, and he was going to enjoy it... no matter what! When was the last time that I did that. When was the last time that I fearlessly and unashamedly embraced what was placed in front of me, messy or not.

In my mind, this reminded me of the poignant line from the new movie Letters to Juliet. Charlie explains that his grandmother should not be too upset about being separated from her love for fifty years. When she finds him, he will have gone from teenager to fully grown adult without her having to witness all of the messy bits. Clare responds by explaining to him, "Life is the messy bits." Life is the uncontrollable moments. Life IS the messy bits. It is the icing laden faces and hands of children. How we react to the messiness of life determines our happiness.

Needless to say, I will never look at cake the same way again, and the next piece that I get to eat, I may rub some icing on my face and fingers... just for good measure!