Hello friends, I have a doughnut

When you’re a parent there are a couple defining moments for your children. I don’t mean graduation from school, learning how to ride a bike or other benchmark happenings. Just like how an inside joke is sometimes funnier than the practiced classic gag, the offhand things that your children do that really expresses their personality can be the thing that parent remember forever. That happened to us the other week.

The four of us went into the grocery store to get some doughnuts. It was a normal day, nothing exceptional about it. The kids were acting normal and it was a typical Sunday. While leaving the store our youngest was gleefully nibbling the edges of his chocolate sprinkle doughnut. There was a dad with his two young daughters who were about 5 and 7 walking into the store as we were leaving.

Just before we passed them he looked up from his doughnut and said, “Hello friends, I have a doughnut!”

He didn’t say this in the same way that he taunts his brother when he doesn’t have something. There wasn’t a hint of bragging, nor was this the first doughnut he’s ever eaten.

Had he not had a doughnut his entire life and this was the magical day that we finally allowed him to have a doughnut then it would be something different.

He was just happy. Happy to have a doughnut and wanted to share that news with some other kids. He didn’t know these kids, they were just two kids in his age group that might be able to identify with is utter joy at eating the doughnut.

Whenever he sees some kids he always says “Hello friends”.  To us that’s just one of the cool things that a 4 year old does. They can say hello to anybody and it’s impossibly cute. When he does that he’s the real life equivalent of a kitten video.

On this day he just combined his normal greeting with the fact that he had a doughnut.

Would adults look weird if we did this? What if we said something else as an opening, but said it with the same enthusiasm and joy?

“It’s a great day isn’t it?”

“How was your weekend?”

“I brought some doughnuts to the break room if you want any!”

If you simply leave out the ‘friends’ element it’s an awesome way to speak. For us that comment was the start to a great morning that made that made us all smile and realize that life can be a wholly enjoyable and fun experience where you can happy just as easily as you could not.