Life is not a fairy tale, and people don't really live Happily Ever After (here on earth, at least). But every once in a while, you get a glimpse of what life would be like if it were truly the Happily Ever After kind of life.
Like yesterday, for example. Whooda thunk that the pieces could come together like this? I woke my three at-home kids at ten minutes to six and they got up gladly, dressed and brushed their teeth, and then we zoomed our bicycles down to our local Rescue Mission to serve breakfast. And instead of complaining about the earliness and the work and the heat, the kiddos bubbled over with happiness and declared to me, "Mom, we should do this every week." Like, who's life is this, really?
After that, we biked over to the farmer's market where I picked up milk and kale, to general rejoicing. (Yes, my teenage boys really did do the Kale Happy Dance.) We biked home, and the weather turned even more glorious as the boys took themselves to tennis camp while I did math.
The afternoon swirled around through lunch, through reading time (mostly mine), parks and basketball (mostly the boys), friends (mostly K-daughter), and a vigorous round of swimming (all of us together). After dinner with a surprise-and-very-welcome guest, the boys and I biked ebulliently to drum practice, where N-son's teacher took me aside to say earnestly, "Thank you for bringing N-son to work with me. I get goosebumps all over when I hear him play." (I love that drum teacher a lot, but I think he's even more hippie granola than I am).
After drums and the library, the boys chased fireflies and had the obligatory second dinner. And then they begged to be allowed to go read their new library books. Lovely.
A year ago, this would have been hard to imagine -- we were in the beginnings of some rough and stormy patches with C-son, and that particular story didn't end like a fairy tale. It was a miserable time. And perhaps yesterday's golden haze shone more brightly in contrast to my memories of last year.
You know, it wasn't a Perfect day. I did have to send N-son to his room for making "That Face" again; I left random piles of unfinished work in my wake; I missed waking up with my husband (who is at army summer training for two weeks). And I know the whole world did not rejoice with me; somewhere in the mist of my happiness floats a bit of gloom over someone I am fond of who is facing a terrible illness, and someone whom I love fiercely who is bravely caring for him. Not an all the way, entirely, 100% perfect day.
But even so, the day just sort of glowed. A window into the world of glory. A feeling to remember. A lot, when I think about it, like what Happily Ever After might look like, if fairy tales could come true.
Like yesterday, for example. Whooda thunk that the pieces could come together like this? I woke my three at-home kids at ten minutes to six and they got up gladly, dressed and brushed their teeth, and then we zoomed our bicycles down to our local Rescue Mission to serve breakfast. And instead of complaining about the earliness and the work and the heat, the kiddos bubbled over with happiness and declared to me, "Mom, we should do this every week." Like, who's life is this, really?
After that, we biked over to the farmer's market where I picked up milk and kale, to general rejoicing. (Yes, my teenage boys really did do the Kale Happy Dance.) We biked home, and the weather turned even more glorious as the boys took themselves to tennis camp while I did math.
The afternoon swirled around through lunch, through reading time (mostly mine), parks and basketball (mostly the boys), friends (mostly K-daughter), and a vigorous round of swimming (all of us together). After dinner with a surprise-and-very-welcome guest, the boys and I biked ebulliently to drum practice, where N-son's teacher took me aside to say earnestly, "Thank you for bringing N-son to work with me. I get goosebumps all over when I hear him play." (I love that drum teacher a lot, but I think he's even more hippie granola than I am).
After drums and the library, the boys chased fireflies and had the obligatory second dinner. And then they begged to be allowed to go read their new library books. Lovely.
A year ago, this would have been hard to imagine -- we were in the beginnings of some rough and stormy patches with C-son, and that particular story didn't end like a fairy tale. It was a miserable time. And perhaps yesterday's golden haze shone more brightly in contrast to my memories of last year.
You know, it wasn't a Perfect day. I did have to send N-son to his room for making "That Face" again; I left random piles of unfinished work in my wake; I missed waking up with my husband (who is at army summer training for two weeks). And I know the whole world did not rejoice with me; somewhere in the mist of my happiness floats a bit of gloom over someone I am fond of who is facing a terrible illness, and someone whom I love fiercely who is bravely caring for him. Not an all the way, entirely, 100% perfect day.
But even so, the day just sort of glowed. A window into the world of glory. A feeling to remember. A lot, when I think about it, like what Happily Ever After might look like, if fairy tales could come true.
And it's a great summer because miser-mom updates!
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