Perfect Days

There are days when Gia screams during a "timeout," which is actually just a fancy/socially acceptable way of saying "kid, go chill out on your bed where you can bite pillows and not me, and mommy can go cry into a pillow and eat seventy-five mini laffy taffy's and figure out what it is she's supposed to be doing."

....and then there are these days.  

If you notice, there is chalk on her pants, and stamps all over her arms, hands, and face.  There are sugar free popsicle stains under her lip.  She played hard while I was at school and it's literally written all over her body.  The wind tossed our hair around while we sat in the grass and played Don't Get Me!  

I should have been reading the last of my chapter for a test tomorrow.  Should have, but didn't.  Just like I should have finished it in the bath tonight, but I drank coffee and stared at my toes instead.  

The days when I can plop down on the grass with a willing child to play and converse with isn't as common for us as it is for some.  She doesn't always want to do what I want to do, or for that matter, what she wants to do. Some days, I don't know what she wants and we're both frustrated because of that.  Other days she wants things that aren't possible in that exact moment and the worlds fastest meltdown commences.  Not a crying, upset, angry meltdown.  An intense, teethmark-in-your-thigh kind of meltdown.

So today was perfect.  To make room for perfect, I have to give up things like blogging, or returning phone calls, or homework before...11:47 pm.  I have no clue who is on The Voice or American Idol.  In place of necessary work comes laughter and appreciation - a different kind of necessity. My silly girl slid down the slide of her brand new swing set (thanks Pamma and PaPa!), and learned how swing without my help.  We played airplane and giggled when she landed on my chest, and couldn't catch our breath when Dottie began running in circles around us.  

It sounds like wind mama.

Dottie handed us plenty of dog kisses and when she planted one in Gia's ear, she threw her head down and around smacking my lip and hers. Mine split on the right side, hers on the left.  Two bloody lips in a perfect little gross puzzle.  I paused, and she laughed anyway.  

Everything was beautiful today....  

Do you see their paws?  

Gia and Dottie girl.

"ballerina bars"

"are you here mom? are you here?"

               

 

being a part of this is like seeing a double rainbow.  you stop. you watch. you embrace the absolute perfection of something that you don't always see.  you close your eyes and make sure that whatever you do, you don't take for granted the double rainbow you've gotten that day.