Life has gotten the best of me again.
I like to think I "do" Life the right way. After almost 40 years, I think I've got it down: play. laugh. let things go. move on. have faith. work hard. reflect. notice the small things and make them more special. but most of all: love.
We are always up to something over here and these babies of mine are no longer babies. They say and do the coolest things. I try to make every day of value to them in some special way. Usually it turns out to be the other way around. We keep busy, like most young families. I often stop and think about writing another entry for More Seasoned Then; quickly that thought becomes a fleeting one as I'm being tugged on with a request of a snack, a book to be read, or for a hug. One day when I am old(er) and gray(er), I will look back and never regret not writing more because I will have raised happy, healthy children who, for the most part, have had my undivided attention, and all the books, hugs, and kisses they could ever want (and the occasional fruit snack, too).
Many of the moments I share with my children inevitably become teachable ones. I think I learned this from the best: my Ma.
Ma taught me that whenever you say "I'm the happiest I've ever been" it is usually followed by a period in life that could be described as the worst, most difficult time ever (that is, since that last time you proclaimed you were the "happiest" and stupidly didn't learn that you shouldn't say such nonsense). Ma much preferred the old Forrest Gump: "Just floatin' along like the breeze"... maybe next time, I will have finally learned to just stick with the damn breeze. What I do know is that we all know life is a series of peaks and valleys...I guess it goes without saying: we're in a valley...but I'm going to make it a teachable one.
Every day, I have a smile on my face, a positive attitude, and an unabashed love for my family and friends. I sleep little these days, but I still find myself awaiting the early-morning pitter-patter of preschooler feet to greet me, inevitably with a giant smile and a "Good morning, I love you"... accompanied by a "squeeze hug" a genuine zest for life and anticipatory excitement for what the day may bring. I look forward to when my daughter then awakens and says, "Hey, Mom, morning. Where's Brudder?" I may be exhausted but when these two ask to dance, we dance. If they ask to sing, we sing. And again, those hugs? Always hugs. Their smiles and laughs and giggles keep me (us) going. They make us laugh even when the gravity of reality tries to pull us down. We are stronger, smarter and more in tune because that is who our children have helped us become. With that, another one of Ma's faves: this, too, shall pass, floats across my mind at least thirty times a day - kinda like that breeze she was fond of.
...
"Thank you, God, for all of my blessings. God bless Daddy. And God bless the Chicago Cubs"... My son's nightly prayer is so poignant, so honest, and so reminiscent of how I must stop the daily few minutes of feeling sorry for what we don't have and make sure we don't miss out on what we do. The most important thing we have right now is Love. Love from our children, from our family, and from our friends. It's right in front of us. And that's more valuable than anything money can buy.
Even more than a World Series ticket.
So I guess it's little Jimmy who owns this teachable moment. We have a lot of blessings, even in a valley. We have each other. And we always have those Cubbies.
