Tuesday, March 31, 2009

JOY

lest i forget the name of my blog.... a true and simple JOY in my life has always been, most definitely is still---and likely always will be---seeing a bird take a bath! such EXUBERANCE! such JOY! such SPLASHING! such JOY! such DUNKING! such JOY! such FLUTTERING! such JOY!

whitey, the new parakeet (last november) just now discovered he can climb into his water dish to take a bath! i think he is copying rudy (our 8 year old canary) who much prefers bathing in his water than drinking it! cloudy (5 yr old keet)...well, cloudy, she marches to a different drum. she just likes to lap up the little splash-droplets that land on the cage bars.

the other day while driving, i saw 2 robins splashing away in their "makeshift tub" (dirty rain puddle in the street). but they had an absolute ball! they didn't want to get out, and when they did, they were so heavily weighted with water on their feathers, i thought for sure i heard them go: WHHOOOA!! as they swooped low, then flapped harder to gain altitude, dripping as they flew off.

i remember when my little kid-lets loved their baths and playing in the tub; never wanting to get out. "your little fingers look like RAISINS!" i'd tell them. "they're all wrinkled from so much water." in my mind, it was a MOM who changed the design of the old fashioned bath tubs. they used to be rounded and not much more than a few inches. definitely uncomfortable to sit on for any period of time as you tended your toddler playing in the bath water. soon the design changed to a much wider, and flat surface. ok! now, that's MUCH better!

and, in ALL of life, there is little to compare to that smell, and that feel of wrapping in a towel your little toddler, fresh from the tub, wet hair and dripping little limbs, puffy little bumm...as you cuddle and warm them with a hug that stays with you all your years, no matter how old those toddlers get.

maybe that's partly why i just LOVE to see birds take a bath. such a happy and JOY-ful sight! it is impossible not to smile as i watch and enJOY it so very much. a little water, a little bird, a LOT of JOY!

2 comments:

thetoddlerwhisperer said...

Awww...this is precious, and reminds me not to rush the babes out of their baths to get changed...but enjoy those moments. I found you on a friend's blog and your blogger name intrigued me...my little brother used to have a little blue parakeet he named Blabluebee. God Bless and have a great day.

babluebird said...

well--come toddlerwhisperer, to my blog! o by all means, speaking as a grandmother of 6, try not to rush the babes with any thing. when mine were wee, i read once: 2 friends were trying to visit but the toddler of one kept coming and interrupting. the visitor said, don't you hate all the interruptions? oh,no, the momma replied. i brought her into this world; it's the least i can do is let her show it to me.
(p.s. i love that keet name!)