Today was a day when I could have complained a lot, let the stress of life get to me, focused only on what wasn’t getting done. And then Vincent did this. He found a small piece of tape on the floor and was so fascinated by the way it stuck to his finger that he began sticking it onto everything, finally deciding that sticking and unsticking it to my shirt was the most fun ever. He giggled with joy each time the tape unstuck from his finger and stuck to my shirt.

The sheer joy with which he experiences life is infectious. We stayed this way—me in my chair, Vincent snuggled between my knees—for twenty minutes while he focused on the amazing sticking properties of tape. When it would cling to my shirt he would look up at me and laugh asking me to laugh with him, and I did.

The mess around us, dirty dining table, books on the floor, dust and cat fur in every corner, blurred into the background like a moment of selective focus through a camera lens. Twenty minutes of focus, presence, simplicity. Twenty minutes of happiness that lasted all day.