"what are you doing?"

"I'm sitting in the sink, what does it look like I'm doing?" I grinned at my sister and she rolled her eyes at me.

Today I was cold. Not only was my exterior chilled, my interior was quite cool as well after my smoothie lunch. So after I finished my smoothie, I announced that I was going to go sit in the sink. No one believed me. That is, until my younger sister walked into the kitchen to find me perched cozily on the counter, my freezing feet and hands stuck in some nice, hot water. It felt amazing. As I sat there, periodically adding more hot water, I thought about life and about how amazing hot water is. No one takes time to notice how wonderful it feels to warm up, but it is a pretty cool thing! When I crawl into bed at night, I like to be a little bit chilly, just so I can pull the covers up under my chin and fall asleep as I begin to feel all warm and cozy and safe. When it is cold outside, it feels great to put on some mittens and a scarf or to come inside. And when it is cold inside, there is nothing more satisfying than sticking your cold extremities in some steaming hot water. Ahhh... the simple pleasures of life.

(Little kids, by the way, have simple pleasures all figured out, and it amazes me how many adults become... well, adults. They forget the innocence and the wonder of childhood. I hope I never lose that childlike spirit.)

After I had finished pondering life, I thoughtfully made a newspaper boat and set it afloat in my sink. Some time later, as my boat slowly listed to the side and started taking on water, I grabbed a spoon and began gently bailing out my tiny craft. I succeeded. But then a terrible storm came up (its intensity was startling, almost as if someone had turned a faucet on full blast above the foundering vessel). I watched in horror as the boat sank, but was delighted to see that everyone survived and was swimming strongly toward the edge of the sink. My attention was diverted as a fierce sea monster attacked from the depths of the drain and chomped the boat flat, but all the people had already escaped, so it was okay. A long while after the sea monster was through munching and all the people had been rescued by kind sinkside villagers, a huge whirlpool appeared and sucked the soggy paper boat almost to the bottom of the sea (but I had to rescue it before it clogged up the drain). I then dried off my toes and put on some wool socks. Yay!

My sister thinks I'm crazy. I think she's right. I wouldn't be much surprised if one day some people came and took me to a place with padded pink walls. Until then, however, I'll occasionally enjoy simple little pleasures like hot water and paper boats and imaginations. It keeps things in perspective and it makes life beautiful.