Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts

I Saw a Unicorn


I'd had a day. It wasn't perfect.  I took the deepest breath at the stoplight, saw my chest rise to the sky and then I exhaled all that bad energy out. ONE. I had done my best TWO with what the day THREE dealt me, solved problems, FOUR eased concerns from coast to coast. FIVE  What more can I do? SIX It's all good, just exhausting some days SEVEN. That day is done. Goodbye.

Deep breathe in. I didn't feel capable of a sentence when I walked in the door.

We gathered our trio and went for pizza. A glass of wine. Everyone cooperated.  I settled back in, resetting. We went for a walk to the park. The clouds were big and tall like they've been for weeks. It made me think of living near mountains.

The girls bathed and went to sleep so easy. I cleaned up the days messes. I felt content but maybe still in a haze.

On the art table, this. A happy unicorn who flies and is also a race horse and who likes to eat hot dogs and loves unequivocally.

Thank you, my oldest. I needed a unicorn.


The Good of Down


Today. Me and the girls slept in until 7:28 and that is early but it felt late.

Today. I caught a glimpse out of the cottage window of Elizabeth, a smile on her face, 
her head bent back, eyes squinting, watching the bubbles she blew through the wand fly up
and up
and up
And away.  
And then I was watching too and leaning out the window 
looking up and wondering…
To where…

Today. We spent a hazy August day at the beach and three hours wasn’t enough time for my five year old to catch waves and my three old slithered in the muddy wet sand like a snake and my one year old waded into Lake Michigan like she had been on this earth far longer than a year.

At days end, after an afternoon thunderstorm that had ushered most of Ellison Bay into slowing down, suddenly whoots! And whooshes….and a handful of kids from up the hill were biking down the road full speed and shouting joy and carefree, the happy giggles of being say 9 and 11 and 13 and riding matching white cruisers down the Lakeview hill road after a rain. 

I sat on the porch, wanting to join them, to feel the mist and grit on my legs from the wet road and the thrill and tickle of downhill fast, and then to speak it and shout it out.

Oh man, the good of down!

Back up again and again and again
for the good of down. 




Image here.

Tuesday Best

You know what's the best?


Sharing a laugh with your kids. 

Today, baby Vivie discovered her tongue. 
How long it was, how she could stick it outside her mouth and curl it up at the tip.
 Most of the day, if you looked at Vivie, she had her tongue fully extended. 
It was the silliest of sights, the sweetest of discoveries.

And me and Elizabeth and Maren couldn't quit giggling. 
I had a moment where I rose above myself, the room, and I could see all four of us laughing together, and it was... 
the 
best.


Our Summer List

Catch fireflies.
Tally rainbows.
Make ice cream.
Run.
Ride a horse, whenever possible.
Pick strawberries.
Ride our bikes.
Playdates with school friends.
Playdates with mommy and daddy's friends.
Camp in the backyard at the cottage. For practice. 
Sand dunes.
Sand castles.
Make time for dates. Cheap ones.
Free ones.
Sit under the moon. 
Together.
Ride a boat.
Fall asleep in the sun.
With sunscreen on.
Put the cell phones away.
Walk through a cornfield.
Don't go too far.
Go to the Zoo.
A lot.
Dance.
Hike new trails.
Make new trails.
And a fort.
Catch a frog or a turtle.
Visit for a short while.
Three! Birthday cakes!
Friday night family walks to the playground.
Star gaze.
Saturday morning Farmer's Market breakfasts.
Learn to swim. Once and for all.
That means you.
Backyard bonfire in the City, once a month.
S'mores.
Bonfire at the cottage, every night.
S'mores.
Homemade pizza with our own basil and tomatoes.
Host a Lemonade Stand.
Star gaze.
Visit The Farm.
Pretend we live there. 
Cheeseburgers at PC Junction afterwards.*
(*Paid for by the Lemonade Stand.)
Hunt for driftwood. 
Craft Projects twice monthly. 
Get messy.
Star gaze. Some more.
Go to the State Fair.
Send Zoe off to sea.
Promise to throw her a stick any time we find ourselves at the water's edge.
Star gaze again.
Remind ourselves that summer won't last forever.
Find more heart shaped rocks.