Grilling season, pretty flowers, playgrounds, ice cream, watermelon...you get the drift. I daydream about summer all winter long. I also live in Colorado, where winter is the norm. When summer actually takes it sweet old time and gets here already, it's like every human being comes out of hibernation, giddy like a school girl skipping down the street.
When summer hits, I almost want to do nothing else. I want to play. And, now with AK entering our world - and being old enough to play - she's my perfect excuse.
Last weekend, husband went out of town. For one moment, I need to float his boat, toot his horn, blow wind in his sails (knock it off - that wasn't meant to be dirty!) He went down to my Mom's house to tackle the world's biggest honey-do list. I know. Isn't he the sweetest? I swoon.
Anyway, I had one task this past weekend: clean the house. It was a self-given task and it was such a lofty goal. I would have been so proud of myself had I completed it. I didn't. I didn't even come close. In fact, AK and I only messed it up more. But, holy crap, we had fun.
We made faces at the (huge!) fish in the pond at the nursery. We picked out and potted pretty new flowers for the boxes on our deck. We let ice cream melt down our hands. AK had her first corn on the cob. We went out to lunch - twice. We bought the biggest box of sidewalk chalk ever and doodled all up and down the driveway. We took several bike rides - I would say with the wind blowing through our hair. But, really, AK doesn't have any hair, so that's a moot point. And, we laughed until our cheeks hurt.
I hardly looked at my phone. I take that back - I took a boatload of pictures.
A while back, you may recall, I made an effort to be truly present with my daughter. I vowed to put down the devices and spend time watching her become a little person. This past weekend epitomized that goal. And, I achieved it, wildly.
When she's giggling, running, chasing and playing with reckless abandon I could care less about the dishes in the sink, the blueberries mashed into the floor or the puzzles strewn throughout the playroom. Aside from the fact that the bath towels need changing, the dog beds need cleaning and don't even get me started on the need to vacuum.
I learned a very valuable lesson this weekend: the reward of being truly present and disregarding the massive to-do list that every one of us grapples with, is indescribable. I wouldn't have traded the experiences that we created together for the world. I am so thankful that I actually listened to the little chats I had with myself - "Sarah, who cares about the house. Let it go." I let it go. But, I got it back in spades.
Three days later, I am rejoicing in the fact that my house is currently being cleaned. By someone other than me.
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