Joie De Vivre

Last night we were driving home pretty late from my parents house. The girls had spent a day of playing, feeding the animals and swimming in the hot tub. Usually both of the girls fall asleep on the way home. Campbell was out like a light. I decided to turn on a little NPR to help James be lulled to sleep. One of my favorite programs was on. Here On Earth: Radio Without Borders Jean Feraca was talking with the author of a book. As soon as I heard the topic I knew that James would not be falling asleep. She was speaking to Adam Gollner, the author of "The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce and Obsession". A whole program about FRUIT! It was fascinating hearing about all the different types of fruit in the world. The program went on with the author telling experiences with new types of fruit. He would describe the setting where he tried the fruit, which country it is from, the texture, smell and flavor. We listened the whole way home without a word between us.

When we pulled into the garage James started talking.

"When we go to the store again can we find some new fruits that we have never tried?", with sparkles in her eyes.

"Sure, we should look for different fruits and we can try them. Did you like all of the things they were talking about on the radio?"

"Yeah, I didn't know there are so many fruits."

This little girl with all her joie de vivre just makes me so proud. I love that she is able to listen to NPR and apply it to her life. I love that she loves new things and is so brave. She talks all the time about how she is going to make new friends when we move to Iowa. She's not scared or shy. Oh to be a kid again.

If you have any exotic fruit suggestions that we should try let me know. We will be experimenting this week. (I'm not sure how vast our selection will be in Iowa.)