1 Mother 2 Another

I don’t know what I did to deserve
it, but the girls and I had a pretty fantastic day yesterday, all
things considered.


Cora’s still doing her imitation of an insomniac and getting
up waaaaaaaaaay too early, but I’m not hopping out of bed in
the middle of the night any more, and that seems an almost fair
trade. So I’m functioning on a bit more sleep, which always
helps my outlook considerably. Maddie woke up in a good mood, and
we all got ready relatively painlessly.


Monday was playgroup day, and at first Maddie was resistant to it,
begging instead to go someplace “fun” like the mall.
But once she realized playgroup was at a new house with new toys to
check out, she quickly came on board. We all bundled up against the
mild cool breeze, and strollered over to playgroup.

Maddie and Cora were on fire, rocking baby
dolls and driving fire trucks and sharing the indoor slide. I gaped
at how well my girls played, and was even more astounded when they
agreed to go home with a minimum of fuss. On the walk home, Maddie
said, “Mama, what are we doing now?” “Well, pup,
I thought we’d stop and play at the park a while before going
home for lunch,” I responded. “I have an idea,”
Maddie said. “How about if we go home now, pack a picnic, and
take it to the duck pond?”


I looked at the blue sky, thought about our time stretched
uncommitted out in front of us, and said, “Why not?”


We quickly packed sandwiches and fruit and jumped in the wagon for
our neighborhood duck pond. The girls were excited to see our
resident ducks out for a noonday swim, but restrained themselves
and didn’t head over until lunch was finished. The three of
us wandered down with our sandwich crusts and sat by the edge,
feeding the ducks and laughing at their antics.


There was plenty of snuggle time by the pond: Maddie curled up on
me as she ate her sandwich, and Cora and I snuggled together on our
backs while Maddie went stick hunting. The weather was lovely and
none of us felt pressure to do much of anything for a while. But
eventually we felt like doing something more active, and we
meandered back home, parking the wagon in the garage just before
grabbing tricycles and heading around front to ride for a bit.


We’re on a cul-de-sac, so the girls ride in the street when
they play. And I use the term “ride” loosely with Cora,
since bicycling for her involves sitting on a tricycle and
demanding of an adult, “Cora go!” until said adult
obediently pushes the despot around the circle. We insist she wear
an old helmet of Maddie’s, and the thing slides into her eyes
as she surveys her serfs. She eventually tires of this game and
will get off and begin loading the tryke trunk with dead leaves.


So for a while after lunch we played in the street, riding bikes
and throwing leaves, until it was finally nap time. And after
dinner we decorate for Halloween, everyone standing outside in the
dark watching Daddy hang pumpin lights around our door. Maddie and
Cora chased each other through the front lawn as we worked,
laughing and staying obediently in our area.


I can’t point to any one specific thing – say, winning
the lottery – that made yesterday such a great day. I think
it was mostly the unhurriedness of it, the easy pace, and the
knowledge that these days are numbered. I tried at playgroup to set
up some play time with another mom on Wednesday, and she had
preschool drop-off for her 3-year-old at nine followed by music for
her 2-year-old at 9:15, followed by preschool pickup at noon,
followed by karate at 2 p.m., followed by . . . So I know that
I’ll look back on these days when both girls were old enough
to enjoy each other’s company and play together, yet young
enough to be home together, as a brief moment in time that
I’ll cherish.


Nasty weather and busy schedules are coming soon enough. For now,
I’ll enjoy the brief period of amiable children and autumn
days full of limitless possibilities while it lasts.