things that make me happy.

Tonight at work I went to Barnes and Noble on my break, it is in the mall also. There is a play area for little kids with benches wrapping all the way around it for parents to sit and watch their kids while keeping them barricaded like little lambs. It just has things for them to crawl through, slide on, run on, balance on, etc. Nothing too crazy but very entertaining to watch as toddlers focus 110% on their little path and crash into each other, etc. Anyway, as I passed it on the way into the bookstore there were a lot of kids running around in it-- all either barefoot or with just socks on. I left the bookstore right at 9 and by this time, when the mall closes, there was only one family left. It was a Mom, what looked like a Grandma, a Dad, and two sons- one a toddler and the other probably about 5 or 6. Who knows, he could have been 8- I'm pretty terrible at guessing ages, not important. As I was walking by I saw the dad, in his socks, running around on the paths and crawling through giant apples. This wasn't a little man I might mention-- probably about Jeff's size. The only thing distracting him from playing was his toddler son who kept escaping the play area trying to get to the elevator. In the 30 seconds it took me to walk past them I saw him slide on his belly through a tube, barrel roll down a slope, chase after his son, hopscotch, crawl through the apple, chase after his son again, and then defeating my urge to just stop and watch- I walked back to work. While I was walking I could hear his wife laughing out loud as she watched- obviously thinking that her husband was the funniest person on the planet. I realized that I had this silly grin on my face as I was walking away. It totally made my night.
Moral of the story: I think Dads, or parents in general, who are willing to let their kids be the center of their universe such that they are willing to be silly and play with them at home, let alone in public, are awesome and amazing, and knowing that it's possible makes me happy.