Sun Drenched
Today was a good day. It was the kind of simple, good day that is almost too beautiful to tell. It was a Norman Rockwell kind of good day. I'm almost afraid to try to describe it for fear I'll wake up and realize it wasn't true. I'm going to put it down in words and you will read it and say "so what's the big deal?" But it was the kind of day that lives are lived for. It was the kind of day that I hope to remember when I am 83 and alone and remembering my life.
We woke up, and Julie was playing happily with her Legos, not whining as she sometimes does first thing in the morning. I wasn't as exhausted as I sometimes am when it's time to get up. I got up, changed diapers, took the girls down for breakfast and let Joe sleep an extra hour - the way he did for me last weekend. We took our time, I read the paper, Julie sat next to me chatting and Sophie sat on my lap wiggling and making little noises.
Joe came down and ate his breakfast while Julie played, I took a shower and Sophie took her little morning cat-nap. Joe went off to play disc golf with a buddy, and the girls and I went outside to play in the backyard. Julie immediately started bathing in the sandbox, and was covered from head to toe in superfine sand stuck to her sunscreen and in her hair. But it was a good day and I was able to just laugh at her. I dug out the wading pool and inflated it with Sophie in the sling in her floppy little white sun hat.
I dug out the hose and hooked it up and started to fill it till the neighbors across the street with the two older boys - 6 and 9 - invited us to come over and play in their yard with their wading pool that they had filled earlier in the morning, so it was already sun-warmed. Today was the mid-80s kind of day that is hot enough for the air conditioning to feel great, but sitting in a chair in the shade with the breeze blowing felt fine too.
Julie and I had quick sandwiches for lunch, then headed over to play with the big kids. There were seven kids all together, all from our little neighborhood. They had a wading pool and a Slip-N-Slide and water guns and popsicles. Even though Julie was by far the youngest kid, she had a great time wading and splashing. The others enjoyed taking turns on her floatie ring, and they showed her how to squirt the water guns. She had her first popsicle today - a green one - and she ate it like a pro.
I sat in the shade with the other moms, drinking fizzy waters and then a beer, watching the kids, moderating the sharing and squirting or not squirting of people in and out of the pool, chatting about what's for dinner, gardening, book clubs, miscellany. Sophie slept on my lap, woke up and nursed, went back to sleep after looking around and wiggling for a bit. Eventually, it was time to clean up and head back across the street. I grilled some chicken and made a salad while Joe watched the girls. Julie got a bath, and I managed to get most of the sand out of her hair before bedtime.
Sophie fell asleep and let me do a little knitting, and now I am typing this before heading to bed. It's a simple kind of magic I experienced today. It was a day without much whining or complaint - somewhat rare in the life of an almost-3 year old. It was a day of only good things. Nobody got hurt, nobody cried, nobody yelled angrily, and nobody had to be punished. We were relaxed and happy. Today is the day I want to remember when I think about being a mom to two little girls.
We woke up, and Julie was playing happily with her Legos, not whining as she sometimes does first thing in the morning. I wasn't as exhausted as I sometimes am when it's time to get up. I got up, changed diapers, took the girls down for breakfast and let Joe sleep an extra hour - the way he did for me last weekend. We took our time, I read the paper, Julie sat next to me chatting and Sophie sat on my lap wiggling and making little noises.
Joe came down and ate his breakfast while Julie played, I took a shower and Sophie took her little morning cat-nap. Joe went off to play disc golf with a buddy, and the girls and I went outside to play in the backyard. Julie immediately started bathing in the sandbox, and was covered from head to toe in superfine sand stuck to her sunscreen and in her hair. But it was a good day and I was able to just laugh at her. I dug out the wading pool and inflated it with Sophie in the sling in her floppy little white sun hat.
I dug out the hose and hooked it up and started to fill it till the neighbors across the street with the two older boys - 6 and 9 - invited us to come over and play in their yard with their wading pool that they had filled earlier in the morning, so it was already sun-warmed. Today was the mid-80s kind of day that is hot enough for the air conditioning to feel great, but sitting in a chair in the shade with the breeze blowing felt fine too.
Julie and I had quick sandwiches for lunch, then headed over to play with the big kids. There were seven kids all together, all from our little neighborhood. They had a wading pool and a Slip-N-Slide and water guns and popsicles. Even though Julie was by far the youngest kid, she had a great time wading and splashing. The others enjoyed taking turns on her floatie ring, and they showed her how to squirt the water guns. She had her first popsicle today - a green one - and she ate it like a pro.
I sat in the shade with the other moms, drinking fizzy waters and then a beer, watching the kids, moderating the sharing and squirting or not squirting of people in and out of the pool, chatting about what's for dinner, gardening, book clubs, miscellany. Sophie slept on my lap, woke up and nursed, went back to sleep after looking around and wiggling for a bit. Eventually, it was time to clean up and head back across the street. I grilled some chicken and made a salad while Joe watched the girls. Julie got a bath, and I managed to get most of the sand out of her hair before bedtime.
Sophie fell asleep and let me do a little knitting, and now I am typing this before heading to bed. It's a simple kind of magic I experienced today. It was a day without much whining or complaint - somewhat rare in the life of an almost-3 year old. It was a day of only good things. Nobody got hurt, nobody cried, nobody yelled angrily, and nobody had to be punished. We were relaxed and happy. Today is the day I want to remember when I think about being a mom to two little girls.
posted by Shelly Kang at 11:54 PM
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