happiness

summer, originally uploaded by Kelly Johnson (duna).

There are few things sweeter in life than knowing your children are happy.

It's easy when they are young. A double-dip ice cream cone. A day at the beach. Bedtime deferred for a good book.

Then they grow up, go their own way, and you don't have the power to infuse their lives with happiness like you once did. They have to learn hard lessons without your intercedence; they must make choices and live with the consequences. Happiness isn't something you can micromanage on a Saturday afternoon.

Which is why it brings you to tears when you see it happen without you. And why you are filled with eternal gratitude to have witnessed it for even a few moments.