I spent some quality time last night my with little man, Shepherd. He is the son of my good friend Stacy and older brother to my godson, sweet baby Grant. He recently turned two and lord have mercy is he entertaining to no end.

For his birthday he received a tent/tunnel contraption that is beyond all measure of cool. Basically it’s two brightly colored nylon tents connected via two long cylindrical nylon tunnels. Obviously it is pint sized, but he insisted i join him inside. Shorty that i am, i fit fine inside the actual tent portion….the tunnels however were a different story. I took one look at the diameter of those things and knew right away it was gonna be a serious squeeze. Shepherd however was NOT taking no for an answer.

Shep: MoMo! C’Mon!

Me:I dont think i can fit, buddy!

Shep: MoMo! C’Mon! NOW!

And so in i went wriggling on my belly like a snake trying to shed its winter skin because when that child looks at me with those wide blue eyes and big goofy grin there is little which i can refuse him and he knows this.

About a foot in it became clear things were even tighter than i had previously judged and i got to thinking  maybe i should turn back. Shepherd CLEARLY did not consider this an option. He would run round behind me and yell PUSH! as he hefted his small body weight against my spinal column and tried to push me further into the tunnel. Then he would run round to the front and attempt to pull me via anything his small hands could get a hold of like my arms or my hair.

The more this continued the more i was laughing. His mom Stacy was on the outside of the tunnel the entire time snorting and laughing at the shenanigans she was witnessing but not once attempting to help my sorry soul.

Shepherd would push and pull and laugh his head off. I was giggling so hard tears were running down my face. All the laughing made my body loose and pliable and before i knew it i had made it from tent #1 thru the tunnel and into tent #2.

Needless to say i didnt attempt any further tunnel travel but the truth is it reminded me that sometimes life is much the same way. We stand facing tight squeezes that seem more than a little confining and impossible….even with good friends there to push and pull us in all the right directions. But if we can somehow manage to see the humor in the madness, we might be able to laugh ourselves limber enough to get to the other side in one piece.

Thanks, little man, for the reminder that in spite of all the restrictions and constrictions life places on a soul, a good giggle can transport you places you never thought you had it in you to reach.