The Biggest Surprise Of All

One month ago, I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed Kansas. After being sure Kansas wouldn't be anything to talk about because there weren't any mountains, I find myself thinking that it was actually fun. And I turned into a Kansas fan because of it. It was that surprise of life: no matter how much you think you have something categorized or figured out, the possibility exists that it will actually turn out completely different. I forget this all of the time. And I literally mean, all of the time. But today, the biggest surprise of all came. It was yet one more weekend of chaos and exhaustion, all packaged in what we call Baby Animal Days. It has taken its toll on me through the years. For example, I am fairly certain that if I am ever lucky enough to have kids, I will never take them to an Easter Egg Hunt. I get a little bit panicked and nauseous thinking about it. However, as the day unfolded, I realized that I was sad. I was sad and realized that I was actually going to miss these festivals that we do. I realized it in a very real (as opposed to purely logical) way. I can't even quantify all the ways in which I will miss it...but I will. It's the people, the setting, the personalities, the animals, the mountains, the weather all in one package that I will miss. And that was the biggest surprise of all. I don't want to forget this lesson, because most of the time I like to think that I have things figured out. But in reality, you never know what surprising events or emotions life will bring.