Let’s Bliss Out...One Tooth at a Time

One of my students lost a tooth today. His first one, so clearly it was a monumental occasion in his six year old life. I barely made it through the front door and there he was showing off his new look. He was beaming, his smile stretching from ear to ear. Intense excitement doesn’t even begin to cover what he seemed to be feeling.

Getting to experience this kind of glee is so common as children, but where does it go as we grow? Children are so quick to feel happy, to lean into joy, and to let themselves feel elated. On the flip side, us adults don’t tend to find that same bliss and easily get bogged down with life and its daily obstacles. Of course, our difficulty can be explained that as adults we have endless responsibilities, stressors at work, financial concerns, fatigue, and no filters for the coffee. However, our excess stress does not mean that there isn’t endless meaning and beauty around us too. When you are surrounded by the energy kids bring into the world, their positivity and amused energy can be contagious. One of the biggest perks of my job is that I get to have large doses of this energetic exuberance on the daily. I am so grateful that my students effortlessly remind me to celebrate life’s often forgotten pleasures and to feel joyous even if there seems to be good reason to feel otherwise. Being a Pediatric Occupational Therapist has afforded me this opportunity for decades and I couldn’t feel more blessed. What an incredible gift my students bestow onto me! Maybe not quite as cool as losing a tooth, but pretty darn close!