Monday, September 3, 2012

Thoughts of thanks from the week:

• A dear friend's babe in utero, growing from the size of a kumquat to a sweet little fig in just a week!
• Spice Traveler in Prescott, AZ - a delicious store of epicurean adventure for the taste buds.  We walked out with Ghost Chili salt and Coconut infused sugar, with the delightfulness of Raspberry still on my tongue.
• The sound of an afternoon rain splattering on leaves, rooftops, and on pavement.
• Lightning and a crack of thunder so big and close my body reacted with chills all way up my neck, goosebumps down my arms, and my eyes filled with tears.
• Long-time, comfortable friends from out of town at our home for a sleepover, and their sweet little boy named Jack who stole my heart.
• Homemade guacamole.  I think I could live off this and Mexican food every day for the rest of my life.
• Dashing for cover from the rain with Emmy, her little Hello Kitty umbrella in hand, up the courthouse steps in a downtown Prescott summer storm.
• Gordon, the most gentle Boxer that we got to meet at a fun, dog and food-filled outside festival.  I held my hand out for him to sniff, and the way he so tenderly rested his chin on my outstretched hand was endearing.
• Waking up from a nightmare and realizing it's not reality.
• Friends finding each other, deep love, and a new chapter to write together in their first new home.
• Bonding time with family member's pups Roxy and Toby, and seeing again how much joy and new-found unity they have brought to their owner's family.
• Fresh vegetables.
• Hugs.
• 3-day weekends!
• The language and ease between toddlers:
• New girl close to Emmy's age running across the grassy city park to Emmy, "Hey, do you want to be my best friend?"
• Emmy to new girl who we soon found out to be named Cassy, "Well, do you want to play tag if we're going to be best friends?"
• Me to Cassy, "Where are your Mommy and Daddy?"
• Cassy shoots all the way over across the grass away from us and back again.
• Cassy to Emmy, "Do you want to play tag?"  And off they run in circles, stopping only to hide behind the tall, wide trunks of trees scattered across the park.
• Precious moments being present with the girls.  These moments happen so much more frequently when we're away from home and our daily responsibilities.  We all so needed the love and recharge through reconnection from these shared moments this weekend.
• And in contrast, a productive afternoon = a mowed back yard, some planted pots, a clean dog, a cleaned up front yard, menu for the week, and a refrigerator full of groceries.
• My grandpa Jack's expression, passed down through my mom, "Close calls don't count."  This in response to Andy's bleeding, cut finger tonight over lunch prep.  Whew.
• Some of the best parenting advice I've received from a parent I admire.  Instead of saying "No" when your child comes to you for something, respond with, "Let's research that."  She shared this with me probably over six months ago, but I used it for the first time last weekend when Lily told me that she really wanted a pet snake and my gut reaction was not only no, but never in a million years.  Instead, I calmly said, "Wow, that's interesting.  Let's research that."  And so we have been ever since: time spent together learning about snakes (and in the process, learning about researching on the Internet) and what kind would be a good fit to start with - at this point in time, it's a Rough Green Snake, a book from the school library about snakes, a visit to Petsmart in Prescott to check out the snakes and other reptiles, discovering that there is a Reptile Expo here in November that we'll be saving our questions for, and Lily's first poem that she wrote tonight at the dinner table for her future snake (even though we haven't said yes - or no - just yet:)

My snake is...
green and it is smooth
and it loves loves to groove