I feel so peaceful. So joyful. So content. I feel truly
happy at this moment. There is in the background an enormous To Do List waiting
to be done, and all sorts of life problems to be sorted out, but the last 4
days have been Heaven. And I want to preserve it. I want to capture these
treasure moments. These days of laughter and love and play…it is what life is
for. It won’t always be like this. But for a few blessed days, it has been. And
I must remember them!
This last weekend we took a family trip to Billings. Not a
spectacular Spring Break trip (Blake and I spent the Spectacular on our New Zealand trip, eh? I will write about that another day), but it was absolutely perfect for us. The boys
were thrilled. Funny right? When the kids are this age, you don’t have to go
far. Our last few family trips have been Billings, Helena, Big Sky,
Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, and camping in Hyalite. And in Avind’s mind,
especially, those are the most magical places on earth. He is not much of a car
travel lover. After about 5 minutes he usually begins his incessant, “I just
want to be in _____________________
now!” (Me too kid!) statements. But as
soon as we mention a family trip he is pulling things out his room to pack. He
had fuzzy, reindeer, and his pillow ready for several days before we left.
So, off to Billings we went. I drove so Blake could read out
of Harry Potter while we traveled. There was a good deal of snow after
Livingston and the drive was more beautiful then I have ever seen it. We made a
few shopping stops that I have needed to make and then we went somewhere that
delighted the children and horrified their father. :) Chucky Cheese’s. Despite my
internal aversion, it was a great “focus on the kids” plan. We did not register that 3 o’clock on
Saturday is prime birthday party time so it was packed! And Avind has not been
to a Chucky Cheese’s that he can actually remember. He was almost in a trance.
Collin does remember it, and he was enthralled to be there again. We spent too
much money on mediocre pizza, waited to take our turn for lame games, took our
traditional picture in the booth, and earned enough tickets to buy a gummy ring
and a couple of miniature plastic spaceships that are worth about 10¢ a piece.
And the boys loved it all.
The boys couldn’t wait to check in at the hotel. There is
something exciting about staying in a hotel when you are little. The boys each
have their backpacks and I haul in food we have packed and pillows. There is
always much running and bed jumping and tickle monster going on once checked
into our room, while Blake reminds us on several occasions that we can’t jump
onto the floor and disturb people. And many minutes are spent in the bathroom
by a certain 6 year old who has learned that if you have to go poop, you have
an excuse to lock yourself in a room away from everyone else and read for an
hour.
I ran out to get Subway for us to enjoy while we cuddled up
and watched, “Frozen” which was on the Disney Channel. And then the battle of
bedtime begins because it is late, and the boys cannot leave each other alone
long enough to fall asleep and after a few tries we split them up, one in each
bed, turn the noise maker as loud as it will go, and retreat into the bathroom
to hang out for the rest of the evening because if we stay out in the room the
boys will never actually fall asleep. After long showers (unlimited free hot
water supply means long, long showers) we crash ourselves. And then, they are
talking and it is too early, but if you move they will find you and really
insist you wake up, so a pillow over the head can buffer the sound enough and
hide you in order to half sleep for another 40 minutes or so.
It. Was. Perfect. I can’t even count the times I thought,
“This is it. This is what life is about. Sharing this moment with my 6 year
old/my 3 year old/my husband is why I exist. I am whole.” Collin was tall
enough this year to go on the big slide in a double tube with one of us. We did
it over and over and over. and then we would switch and the other parent would do
it over and over and over. Collin, always my water-loving partner, never ran
out of steam. He played hard all day long. I loved going down that slide with
him and watching his joy. And remembering hours together at Water Country or
swimming in our community pool after a run when he was just a baby but still
loved water and would go all day then with his water-loving mother, too.
Avind especially loved when Momma would swim in the wave
pool pretending to be a shark or an alligator while he was with Dad and try to
steal his goggles. Avind’s limitation is that he would start to get cold and
his whole body would begin to shake. Since he was too young to be allowed in
the hot tub, I learned the trick of sitting in the hot tub and holding his body
against mine while his feet were in the water. So, we would play for a while,
and heat up at the hot tub, and then play some more. I very carefully, finally
got him to try the little red slide in the play area. First, we were just
watching. Then, after bribing him with candy, I got him to go on my lap while
he buried his face into my shoulder. Soon, he peaked a bit while we went down,
and then peaked even longer, until finally, he watched the whole slide and
eventually went down all by himself. It was incredibly gratifying to watch his
progress. And to feel that I did it right. So often I force him to do something
and he hates it. And he is mad and I am mad and nothing good comes of it. But
this time, I did well. And he was happy and confident.
Blake was awesome. Water is not his thing, but he was right
there with us playing, and swimming, and loving. Once even I felt worn out, I
let Collin make all of his last moments, and we cleaned up and went to Cracker
Barrel for lunch. I cannot even believe how delightful that experience was. I
never ever thought I would actually say that about eating out all together. But it was
once again, perfect. The kids were totally occupied by the little peg game on
the table (which is a complete contrast to all the other Cracker Barrel experiences I have had with pegs flying everywhere), and they each actually ate some of the food. That, is in and of itself, is a full-blown miracle) Avind was really
excited to share trout with his daddy. The food was fast, filling, and
inexpensive. And we topped it off with a yummy chocolate cake dessert to share.
Wow, right? Our trip home went quickly as we read the best part of Harry Potter book 3. To make a great day even better, later that evening, Avind asked if I would read
the “Little House” books with him and we began book 1 together, him and Collin
all snuggled up with me in front of our warm fireplace. Blake was even more perfect by folding laundry for us while I read. Right?
To top off our magic days, we used Monday to finally put up
the boy’s Christmas present from us: the trampoline. Phew! It is quite the
event! Took us many hours. And the whole time I kept thinking, “This is going
to be a beast to take down this fall!” But Blake and I had two very excited
little helpers and we managed to do it correctly and without any significant
arguments or disagreements. It helped that I made us stop for a lunch break.
Food is good! When we were finally done, it was all worth it. We played and
laughed and jumped and tickled and loved and played and laughed. We had a
wonderful time. The boys stayed out until it began to get dark and finally came
in for pancakes. It was, as I may have mentioned a few times before, perfect. :)
You bet they slept well after all that. Poor Blake forgot he
was not 15 and was extremely sore and had a good headache in the evening as a
result.
Blake had to get back to work today, but I had another day
with my boys. One thing that has been helpful for me this break is that I do
not have a lengthy agenda this time. I have lowered my expectations for what I
need to get done while at home. My priority has been the kids. And it is so
much better. I know it can’t always be like that. Laundry has to be done, homework needs to happen, and
bills have to get paid. But this week, my boys are my To Do List.
The boys insisted on jumping on the trampoline this morning,
despite the cold layer of rainwater on it. Collin went out, came back in and
went to his room, and returned, saying, “My feet were cold, so I now have 4
pairs of socks on!” He learned that his feet still got wet and came inside. We
went into town and had a treat at a coffee shop, spent a couple of hours in the
library, and several more hours at Walmart. Even Walmart was fun and good. That
is when you really know it is a special week. Kids jumped some more this evening, we had a
good family dinner, and finished with popcorn and family movie night
“Chronicles of Narnia” complete with cuddles.
So, there you have it. In my life’s dictionary under the
word “perfect” you can read about these last 4 days. I am the luckiest girl in
the world. :)