Sam Jokich/Staff Correspondent Aria Jade is the perfect image of a child enjoying life in the rural South.
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It’s often said that a picture is worth 1,000 words, and every now and again you’re reminded about the truth in some of those old sayings. My wife and I took our youngest grandbaby to the Easter egg hunt in Hi- wassee Dam on April 3. After spending the first two years of her life mostly in- side as a child born amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it was nice to be able to take her out and about, especially to spend time with other children her size.
It truly was a blessed day, with the sun shining brightly on the hundreds of folks of all ages who came out for food, fun and to find 2,000 eggs filled with prizes. You could easily pick out veterans of the event, as some kids
implemented serious strategies based on their years of experience in the egg-hunting game.
Staff Correspondent Sam Jokich was on hand to capture the event for the Cherokee Scout. There was so much going on it was difficult to keep his camera in one spot for too long, but he did take a few moments to capture Aria Jade with her proud grandparents after coming out of the ice cream cone line.
The photograph below is the result, and Sam did us right. While I can’t claim to be unbiased here, it couldn’t have turned out much better.
There is our sweet-faced Aria Jade wearing charming overalls, looking up at her too-tall granddaddy with those baby blue eyes in the way that always melts my heart. Her blonde hair is in pigtails, which she is playing with in part because she got a little bit of ice cream in it. The cone in her hand is half-eaten and slowly melting, leaving a chocolate ring around both her hand and mouth. Cuteness, innocence, wonder and all of the other good things in life radiate from every pore in her being.
This is what life should be about. Not arguing about politics or religion, though those things are important. Not worrying about next month’s bills, though we need to take care of our families. Not com- plaining because things aren’t perfect, though we have it better than 95 percent of the planet. Just enjoying the simple pleasures that make life a great adventure instead of something that sucks, as we used to say when we were young.
It has taken me a long time to come to this realization. I still don’t appreciate everything I should. I still take too many things for granted. I still stay up too late running things over and over again in my mind, as if awaiting a magical solution to somehow appear amid the madness.
However, I also have learned to take the time to stop for a moment, enjoy a breath and just soak in the beauty and love that still exists – if we’ll only look for it. When my granddaughter came running to me this morning on first sight, hugging me so tightly I felt her entire weight, then told me she loved me, I knew I must be doing something right.
Easter weekend is coming up, a day fol- lowers of Christ celebrate His resurrec- tion following His execution on a cross. If Jesus can return from the grave, surely we can resurrect the child-like part of our lives that we’ve lost somewhere along the way and learn to see life more through the eyes of someone like Aria Jade.
Next year, I want to be in the photo with a chocolate ice cream mustache.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout. com; or on Twitter @daviddBstroh.