Learning to Leap

It was just a simple nap. I wanted to catch a few zzz's. I didn't need to be totally dead to the world like my child can be when she sleeps, just a mom nap. You know the kind. The one where you're just kinda resting your eyes. A Sunday afternoon tradition like no other here in the good ole USA. After all the hustle and bustle of getting everyone up and dressed and fed and out the door to church, I think moms are kind of deserving of a short nap when the afternoon hours roll around, don't you? My husband was busy staining the fence in the backyard and I wasn't about to stop that work in progress. Big sister was playing next door. This left me with the six-year-old and the three-year-old. Sadly, they had already lost the privilege to watch t.v. (I say unfortunately because taking away tv time is the single most painful punishment a mother can inflict on herself in the history of motherhood. You know it was bad if I had to resort to punishing myself.) So anywa...

Well, that didn't really go quite as I'd imagined. Two rather big disappointments, actually. You see, recently we visited a local outdoor shopping center for what sounded like a super fun event. Inflatables, games, and the ever popular, ever alluring face painting. What could be better? Sunshine, fun, and paint on your skin which doesn't get you in trouble?! I had some excited girls, to say the least. So off we went to Bridge Street, happily discovering a very close parking spot and holding hands and remarking about what a beautiful day it was to be alive. The birds were singing, the sky was a crisp blue, and the spring grass was a lovely shade of green. It's moments like these that get mothers in trouble, I thought to myself. The loveliness of the moment was just sweet. I (almost) wished I had another chubby cheeked, brown-eyed baby to push along in the stroller with us. Must be all that spring pollen in the air messing with my mind. I shook my head a little ...