My inspiration for this record of my days:

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less” -Anna Quindlen

Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Happy Place

 

desert rainbow

Tucson is a magical place for us.   It’s the land of dress-ups and Nintendo; of Ranger rides and kitties all year round.  It’s the place where kids can run free with cousins all day, without having to do chores first; where those tired, dirty kids can fall asleep late, watching movies on the projector screen.  It’s the place where a day could include a trip to Circle K with Grandpa to pick out candy, or a baseball game with Uncle Brandon and Aunt Alicia.

baseball

A few days ago, Caleb was having a rough morning.  We didn’t have any good snacks to pack in his lunch, he couldn’t find his homework  folder,  and his socks just didn’t feel right.  He turned to me on his way out the door, and with tears of frustration in his eyes asked “When is the next time we’ll be going to Tucson?”  I told him I didn’t know, why?  His response was, “That’s just the place where I remember feeling the happiest.”

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