How to regain childlike wonder

The New Jersey crew is on an epic cross-country road trip—six grandkids and two parents in an eight-passenger van—visiting family in Iowa, Utah, California, Oregon, Idaho.

And I’ve been re-experiencing the wonders of the Wild Wild West through their eyes.

Photo: Summer Conn

Photo: Marlys Johnson

The fascination over young calves with their ridiculously exquisite eyelashes.

Photo: Marlys Johnson

The rewarding work of helping with the cows. (We might not have been that much help … actually, we were no help at all.)

Photo: Laurel Johnson

In addition to all the outdoor adventure, there was indoor awesomeness.

One afternoon, my sister-in-law made sugar cookies. The Littles slathered them with blue frosting, and scattered way too many sprinkles on top, and experienced more joy than ought to be legal.

Next stop: Large vacation log cabin near my hometown in Oregon.

Friends from Seattle (who were in Uganda the same time as SIL Josh & Daughter Summer, adopting children from the same orphanage) joined us with their brood.

Ten kids in all.

You can imagine the burbling laughter, rampant pandemonium, unrestrained joy.

Photo: Marlys Johnson

One of the things I love about children is their childlikeness.

Did you know that being more childlike can actually provide better quality of life?

This from René Proyer, a psychologist at the University of Zurich, in an article entitled “What Playfulness Can Do for You”:

People who exhibit high levels of playfulness—those who are predisposed to being spontaneous, outgoing, creative, fun-loving, and lighthearted—appear to be better at coping with stress, more likely to report leading active lifestyles, and more likely to succeed academically.

So, how does an adult regain his/her wonder and childlikeness (not to be confused with childishness)?

I’m glad you asked. Here are 46 things I’ve absolutely enjoyed doing with my grandkids that brought on the unrestrained joy of a child in me:

1. Build blanket tents over the living room furniture
2. Read books by flashlight in blanket tents
3. Decorate gingerbread houses
4. Feed the ducks
5. Blow bubbles
6. Go barefoot
7. Go ice-skating
8. Visit candy shoppes
9. Visit ice cream parlors
10. Go swimming
11. Go stand-up paddle boarding
12. Row a boat
13. Visit museums (favorite: Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, home of Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose)
14. Visit aquariums
15. Visit zoos
16. Picnic outdoors
17. Bake cookies
18. Eat chocolate chips while baking cookies
19. Hold hands and dance
20. Hug and kiss
21. Shoot hoops
22. Play baseball
23. Visit Disney World
24. Fly kites
25. Run from waves
26. Build a bonfire
27. Roast marshmallows
28. Collect seashells
29. Explore tide pools
30. Play Monopoly
31. Make up fun rules … like, “Last one out of bed has to stand on her head”
32. Make up games
33. Walk dogs
34. Ride bicycles
35. Try not to fall off skateboards
36. Go bowling
37. Carve jack-‘o-lanterns
38. Draw and paint and color and glue and glitter and overload with stickers
39. Put together puzzles
40. Read books — the sillier, the better — and then read more books
41. Talk with animals
42. Climb trees
43. Climb a mountain
44. Do nothing
45. Have pillow fights
46. Fall down and get up again

Oh, and don’t forget the antlers. Because every child needs his/her own set of antlers.

Photo: Michelle Sanders

The Teens got to experience new wonders on this visit to the Wild Wild West, as well.

Like, mastering stand-up paddle boarding.

Photo: Marlys Johnson

And driving a Rhino.

Here’s what it looks like to put your life in the hands of the Boy Teen on a four-wheeler, hair flying, trying to grab a photo at breakneck speeds while holding on for dear life through uncontrollable laughter:

Photo: Marlys Johnson

It was Socrates who said:

Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.

May we lose any jadededness, hardness, bitterness, and reclaim our wonder, our glee, our childlikeness.