Has anyone ever said something to you which creates such a sense of awakening in you that you feel compelled to share the profound words of impact with everyone? That is what happened to me--an incredible light bulb moment caused by a few simple words--and I have my mother to thank for it.

This moment of awareness for me happened on a family trip to the beach. My mother has always had a habit of buying junky toys for my boys especially on vacations. They inevitably break within moments of the purchase, get lost or are left lying around and forgotten just waiting to be stepped on or rediscovered years later behind the refrigerator. On this particular trip to the beach my mother, alias Santa Nana, pulled into the parking lot of yet another beach store stocked full of plastic wind up toys eager to grant her grandchildrens' wishes. In a frustrated tone I said, "Why do you always buy them this junk? These cheap toys will only be forgotten or broken by the time we get home." Her reply to me has eternally changed the way I view life in general. She said to me with laughter in her voice, "They're milliseconds of joy!" I had no response at all because I was so swept up in the magnitude of the meaning of her powerful words. As I was standing there speechless, the entire aura of this previously junky beach shop in my eyes took on the most charming glow. Life in its entirety made total complete sense to me in the split second it took to say those words. I realized then and there that no one ever gave us a guarantee that life would be a continuous picnic of pleasure. But rather, and more importantly, life is a conglomeration of little tiny moments that bring us sheer delight accompanied with momentary enthusiastic gasps of excitement.