Perfect Moments: A Quiet Room

Today's perfect moment is actually happening right now as I write this. My son is asleep, the laundry is in the dryer, I am on my comfy bed, and the lights are all turned off. I looooooove quiet. I always have. I love that the only sound I can hear right now is my fingers tapping on the keyboard. Silence has played such an incredibly important part in the maintenance of my sanity over the years. It may sound strange, but when I am all alone in a dark, quiet space, that is when I feel the most connected to everything and everyone around me. It is when I think the best thoughts and am visited by my dear friends Inspiration and Strength. We all mingle for a while, catching up on old news and making plans together for the future. They stay until the noise of life returns and becomes so loud that they cannot bear it any longer. They hide away for a time until I make my way into the stillness once more. Then, we meet again, our friendship renewed--my passions returned.

Perfect Moments: The Ducks

When I was a little girl, my bed was situated right by the window and every morning I would wake up to the sound of sparrows rustling around in the leaves of the cherry trees in the yard. To me, those little birds were my friends coming to say hello and believing myself to be some kind of real-life Snow White, I would actually sit there and try to talk to them and say hello back to them. I swore that they could understand me and that at any minute they would come near, land on my outstretched arms, and sing me a song to start off my day (yes, I realize by sharing this that I am admitting to being somewhat of a strange child:) ). Since then, I have always had a fondness for little, living creatures, and for nature, in general.

Today's perfect moment came when my son and I were at the park. We had flown a kite, thrown some tennis balls around, and then decided to go visit the ducks. Since it is Spring, there are several mother-father pairs of ducks swimming around with their newly-hatched ducklings. I think ducklings are possibly the most adorable newbies in the bird family. Anyway, my son wanted to get a closer look (as usual). So, I explained to him that the mommy duck would not let us get close to the babies if she thought we were there to harm them and that we would have to be very still and calm and tell the mommy that we didn't want to hurt her babies, we just wanted to see how they are learning to swim better. And that is exactly what we did. While my son started whispering softly to the mommy duck, she looked at him and gave a soft whisper of a quack in response as if to say, "Ok, you can look, but if you get too close...beware." The ducklings came very close to us and we laughed as we watched them splash around and bicker with each other, all the while keeping a close eye on the mommy duck who, in turn, was keeping a close eye on us. Watching my son and hearing him talk to the ducklings and their mommy was what brought to memory those times when I saw the sparrows outside my window as a little girl....good, simple moments. And, it made me happy to think that my son (if he is fortunate enough to live a full life and have his own children) might be reminded of today and our encounter with the ducks by his own kids one day. It is the cyclical nature of things that continues to make new things old and old things new. It is a fascinating phenomena to observe.

Perfect Moments: A Change of Plans

Well, today is Mother's Day and as is customary for many, my husband, son, and I set out looking for a nice, Mother's Day meal. We woke up and decided to go to a particular brunch, but when we got there, we were told that the next available opening wasn't for another few hours!!! Then, we tried three other places and ran into the same problem. Apparently there are a lot of people who actually plan in advance and do reservations (what kind of people do that!!:) ). Well, we thought about giving up, but we happened to stumble upon a big line of people and followed the line to see what it lead to. To our surprise, it was a special, only on Mother's Day, event at the Disneyland Hotel. It was more than a buffet, there was a live band, bottomless champagne, and photo ops with Disney characters. It turned out to be such a decadent way to spend a Mother's Day. The important point here, for me, is sometimes you don't get what you plan for, sometimes you get more. And, sometimes you get less. But, in either case, we have EVERYTHING we need-- we are alive, we have food, we have clean water, freedom of speech, the ability to think and feel "love" or connection, and the list goes on and on and on if we pause long enough to read it.

Perfect Moment: The High

Went for a run today after having skipped a few days. That first mile after having skipped for a bit is always a killer. But, then after a certain point...something magical happens. You hit "the high" where you are in your own little world and there are no thoughts to distract or worry you. You feel like the best, strongest version of yourself....clarity of mind...like you could run forever and never tire. You hear, only your breath. You feel, only the ground beneath you. It is a wonderful, mind-freeing activity, which if you are someone like me and have difficulty turning off your over-thinking tendency, is a life saver. So thankful to have all my limbs and organs working properly enough for me to experience this kind of liberation. Thankful, also, for the time.

Perfect Moments: Me vs. The Bee

Today's perfect moment....



Today, my husband, son, and I went on an outing for the evening. As we were waiting in line, my son was dancing around (as usual) and singing...excited to be out and about. Suddenly, I noticed something crawling on the back of shirt. I got a closer look and realized it was a BEE!....precariously positioned an inch away from my son's neck. Now, if you know me....you should know that my usual response in such a situation would be ..."AAAAAHHHHH!"....and then, I would be running like a wild woman the opposite direction. Well, today...when I saw that the bee was so close to causing my son some serious pain, I freaked for a slight moment, but quickly regained composure and pretended like nothing was wrong so as not to alarm my son and cause him to move. Then, I flicked the bee off of him with my finger!! My son escaped, no sting and no idea that I had just saved his LIFE!!:)

ok, well...that's exaggerating a bit...but anyway

The point...the reason WHY this is the perfect moment of the day today...is, in that moment I thought of someone other than myself...at least, consciously, it seemed that way. Everything in me wanted to scream!!!! and get away, but I couldn't let my son get hurt. In that moment, I felt like such a MOM...fitting for this week, I guess. I will admit that I don't always feel like a MOM. Sometimes I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, sometimes I feel like I'm the greatest mom there ever was:). But, I know this....I would do everything in my power to protect my son from harm....I KNOW it. This is one of only a few things I can say that I am CERTAIN of. It is amazing... baffling even. The special bond between a parent and child...in most cases...is one of the things that makes it harder to accept and embrace the fact that this life will come to an end and with it, all the precious bonds we've experienced with the people in it. It is these moments when I am reminded to appreciate them while I can.

Perfect Moments: Sitting Across from a Man

Honestly, I could have chosen from many moments today since I spent the entire day with my son at a beautiful private beach on a absolutely wonderful, sunny California day. We made sand castles, looked for shells, examined some sea anemone, splashed in icy cool waves, and played hopscotch in the sand.

But, my perfect moment...since I've limited this month's exercise to one....came when we got home.

My son, asleep in his room. My husband, working on the computer. Me, sitting across the table from him trying to pretend like I'm doing something, when really I am staring at my husband from the corner of my eye thinking, "That man is fine!" We've been together since 2001 and he is still, without a doubt, hands down, the sexiest man I have ever seen! Understand what I mean by sexy---I could go into great detail about every physical feature (there are plenty, but my momma might read this:) ) that I am crazy about....but more than that....there is:

strong....swagger on 10---confidence and competence oozing out of every pore....soul....integrity...a warrior...a real, no excuses, always takes care of his business kind of man.....

So blessed, happy to have met this man a little over a decade ago and to have seen my appreciation for what a masterpiece he is only increase with the years....

Perfect!

The Perfect Moment

I have been neglecting you, dear blog. Apologize, I do (my son is really into Star Wars right now:) ). But, it is a new month, a new day! I will be spending the month of May sharing my "perfect moment" of each day. By perfect moment, I mean--the times when the world stops turning for a brief second, long enough for you to see yourself and everything around you more fully and in silent stillness, the beauty in your life comes into focus and you experience the most profound sense of thankfulness.

Today's moment...

My son and I, after having a picnic on the City Hall lawn across the street, lying down on the grass, looking up at the sky, watching a weakened Santa Ana wind make the trees around us gracefully dance from side-to-side. The look of pure delight on my son's face accompanied by his gleeful giggle was reminiscent of the one he would send forth forcefully when he was still not yet able to talk, but was teeming with a desperate desire to communicate his excitement over newfound discoveries. Seeing him so genuinely happy, by something some may think so simple, made my heart swell.