Time for a post of happy things…
Last Friday, I got a day all to myself. Well… With Ruby, the 8 month old. Same thing, really. I decided with the boys gone, I would use that day to start sleep training her for naps and bedtime. Well… Little Noodle was way ahead of me, apparently. She fully cooperated – and has been sleeping like a champ ever since! It’s currently 8:21pm and she’s been asleep, in her crib, for over an hour. Success!!!
In addition to getting the little one to sleep well, I managed to clean, organize, do three loads of laundry, and read. Like…a book. And write. And daydream. Outside. On the porch. It felt like I was being incredibly irresponsible, sloughing off my responsibilities. In other words, it felt wonderful.
On Saturday, our family went to one of my favorite places to pick blueberries. An amazingly beautiful farm, tucked up in the hills of Wisconsin, near the Mississippi River and Lake Pepin. It’s one of my happy places. And much to my delight, I discovered my son is an awesome blueberry picker! (And I think he had as much fun as I did – and has already asked to go back.)
Sunday, I snuck out for a bit. We have lived in our new house for over a year, and still have nothing hung on our living room walls. I visited a few shops to try to rectify that situation. I found a couple of things… On sale, too! Gotta love it.
That evening, we grilled kabobs for dinner! And grilled some fresh pineapple, too. Deeeelish! We don’t grill near as often as we used to (too many mini-people running around with tight schedules to stick to). So this tasted even better than usual. AND, we had blueberry cobbler for dessert. Perfection. Summer meals make everything seem brighter.
Have to admit, I had a rough morning with my boy… Thought my good vibes had already come to an end. BUT… This afternoon, after his nap, he and I cuddled up and watched videos of the Okee Dokee Brothers on Youtube for an hour. (Not something I normally would do…) He is fascinated with bluegrass instruments – guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, bass, harmonica, drums… And has been pretending to play them all day. We have a coffee can that we have turned into a drum (that is actually pretty cool). It’s cardboard, with a plastic lid, and a metal bottom – so lots of different noises are possible, depending what you use to play it! He was experimenting with it all afternoon. I’m in awe of how his brain works. (And need to find someone to start teaching him some instruments!)
A piano outside an antique store in Stockholm, WI. A street performer in the making!
Another high point today was simply getting the mail. Besides receiving my fun new hairbands from amazon, I got the sweetest note in the mail from a lovely friend (and former youth group kid). Her card simply said that she appreciated the “honest, authentic” perspective that I share about life in general. I’ve been afraid, beginning to blog again, that people would take my writing the wrong way…. Some of it may seem really negative or like I’m complaining about being a parent… But really, it’s just my perspective from the now. If I wrote about these things years from now, I’m sure I’d look back with rose-tinted glasses. But right now is hard. And that is ok. It’s real. And for other moms going through the same things – we need to hear it from each other. Because it’s a lonely road when most people say, “it gets better;” “you’ll miss it someday;” “you’re just lucky to have kids;” “you’re so blessed.” And yes, while I agree with all these things with a whole heart, sometimes it’s nice to hear, “you too?! Ugh…”
So, yes. I loved this quote, sent from my friend (it’s now hanging on the wall right next to my computer):
Life is what we make it. But it gets knocked around a lot by influences outside our control… So it’s important to look on the bright side! What’s your bright side today?
Life is Good... But the Best is Yet to Come! 