A Perfect Summer Day

I haven't really posted about how I've been feeling the last month or two, but it hasn't been pretty. Things have been pretty rough for me, emotionally. I've been ready to just bail on this whole motherhood thing. There were days that I called up Mark in tears, telling him he'd better find someone to take care of his kids because I was ready to walk. Things are better now, but I think that sometimes you have to experience the bitter to better appreciate the sweet. And today was sweet as candy.

It all started with sleeping in until 7! At our house, that's a rare, rare treat. So, starting on that good note, we had a productive morning of a walk, yard work and a great 2-hr nap for the babies. Then we loaded up the kiddies, called our wonderful neighbors, Wendy and her kids, and headed over to Grandma Cheney's for some fun in the sun. The kids swam, laughed, played and ate those dreaded popsicles.

Afterwards, we headed home with three sleepy boys. There's nothing quite like a silent car ride home as three exhausted little kids' eyelids start drooping. Once home, we were blessed with another 2-hr nap from all three boys (unheard of!). We don't usually let Alex nap, but there was no keeping him awake this time. Mark headed downstairs for some well-deserved Yankees time, and I laid on the bed enjoying the latest book from the Mitford Series.

Once everyone woke up (and not a grumpy head in the house! woo woo), we decided that Mom and Dad needed a little Mexican food, so off to Cafe Rio we went. We went to three different parks to eat our picnic dinner until we finally found one that wasn't being used for some enormous family reunion. We lucked out, because we ended up at Storm Mountain park in Draper, right near our house. It started downpouring (big time!) just as we pulled in to the parking lot. So we raced everyone into the pavilion and chowed. It was sooo gorgeous! The hot summer day cooled off by at least 20 degrees. The rain came pouring down for a good 30 minutes or so, the wind blew, and we sat, almost chilly, enjoying the fresh smell of a cleansing summer rain. We enjoyed a double rainbow and just relaxed.

As the rain let up, we ditched our shoes and decided to go for a wade in the baseball fields at the park. Storm Mountain park is a drainage area for all of the storm drains in the area. The fields became a waist-high pond after all of that rain. There were plenty of ankle-deep areas to splash around in, so we headed in. Alex was in little-boy heaven. The dark-gray storm clouds were breaking up and the sun was peaking through, sending shooting rays of light all over the green grass. The air was crisp and we were joined at the park by dozens of people converging in on the fun that the instant pond promised. Alex went running through the water, arms out to his side, wind blowing in his face, laughing and giggling and enjoying the moment with every fiber of his being. The babies were happy and content as Mark and I held them and chased after Alex. The water was making little pockets of bubbles everywhere in the grass and it was warm and refreshing on our feet. Even when Alex had a fall that would typically have set him off on a crying spell, he just took a kiss from mommy and declared, "I'm okay. You made it alllll better!"

After some successful climbing (another new accomplishment for Alex) on the playground equipment, we loaded up the troops and headed for home. The sun was now setting behind the west mountains, casting a crimson and golden glow on the left-over clouds from the storm. Beautiful. It was way past bedtime, but three happy and content little boys were total champs. We drove home with the windows down and the summer night air blowing all around us.

Words are inadequate to describe the feeling of contentment and true joy that I felt in my heart. Everything about this wonderful summer day was perfect.

As we pulled in for the night, Alex's comment rung in our ears, "Dad? If you ever want to do this again, just say the word. Just say the word, Dad."


P.S. sidenote - Happy Birthday to my big brother, Danny! Hope it was a great one!