We have company right now, our friend Melina. Last night we stayed up really late, sitting by the fire, our faces macbook-aglow as we wrote. We gave each other writing ideas and laughed hard about inappropriate things. My daughters tried really hard to wake her up at 7 this morning and I found myself fiercely protecting her sleep. I pulled two giggling, half-jammied kids out of her room and shut the door. She is still sleeping now, at 10:45, and I find myself tip-toeing around the house to encourage every moment of shut-eye possible. I am on my third espresso. It’s like I’m getting a contact high from her sleeping-in, fondly remembering the time in my life when I could sleep until I woke.
There’s a lot of that with Lina, we see ourselves in the other. It’s quite fun. She is me, sometime ago. And I am her sometime ahead. Or vice versa. Or both. I wrote about it in this week’s mamalode column. Click to read mama digs: everything is big and important.
Melina and Hometeam
This morning, my dirt-crusted station wagon zoomed past snowy hills, under gray sky. NPR barely audible over the full-on defrost that wasn’t yet warm. I held my shoulders near my ears in an attempt to squeeze warmth into my core.
My daughters sat buckled in their car seats, hands folded in laps. Reflected in the rear-view mirror, their clothes a celebration of pink, red, purple, blue and orange which vibrated off the neutral expanse beyond the windshield. Their stripedy legs climbing out of chunky boots.
“Mom?” Margot asks slowly and deliberately, like a statement.
“Yeah bug?”
“You know what is SO awesome about summer? I can just get out of bed and put on a leotard and sparkly shoes and run straight out into the field. I don’t even have to wear socks or anything.”
We haven’t had the energetic benefit of new snow in a week. When the sky quilts the hills with bright white, it feels like cleared countertops, clean sheets, a deep breath and new undies all at the same time.
The benefit to four seasons is living in them and also dreaming of the next. The dreaming always happens a few months in, with a few months to go. And, with glorious predictability, the next seasonal rhythm moves in with her own version of cleared countertops, clean sheets, a deep breath and new undies.
17 Comments
Isn’t it funny how diligently we protect the sleep of the childless? I do the same for my brother, but not for my mom…is that wrong? And perhaps we could send some snow and cold (very cold) temps your way….
So true here too! When my mom or mother-in-law are in town and our kids wake early, Andy and I tell them to cruise straight across the hallway and into the guest bed. 🙂
You think we don’t know this?! (love it too!).
oh yes. I know you know. 🙂
I definitely feel the same way about the four seasons here in NJ. But we are only a few weeks into winter and I’m soooo done with it! Thanks for a bit of motivation to enjoy the now!
I agree with Margot about the leotard and sparkly shoes… even though I appreciate flannel and gloves too! So true about the seasons, and how lucky that you all get to experience them all! Have a wonderful visit with Melina – fun times, it sounds like!
I was just thinking how it’s been awhile since we’ve had new snow. It really does make a difference, doesn’t it?
My 3-year-old accepted that our swimming pool is closed until summer. Accepted the socks, the hat, the mittens. But he reached his breaking point this week when he learned that winter meant no fresh peaches: “I want it to be summer NOW.” I like his reasoning, and Margot’s, too.
My girls will only eat tomatoes from the garden. Oh fresh produce! I can’t wait. And, as our kids get older they’ll appreciate that goodness that we just have to wait for, just like you and me!
I love the new undies simile. Cracked me up.
Burb ~ I think I will always have to live where there are 4 distinct seasons…I loved visiting Mother & Dad in Arizona in the winter, but really had a hard time with small rocks for a yard where grass should be! Winter AND the snow, love the snow, holiday cheer, my birthday, chilly mornings alone at my computer sipping coffee, and spring… when those tiny little crocus heads peek through, the returning of birds, renewed energy, shedding of winter coats for humans and animals! Mother’s Day! ahhh summer! long talks on our patio, looking for Monarchs, grilling out, watching my gardens wake up, long sunny days into night, annual trip to Montana and fall..the smell of changing leaves, ritual of putting gardens, flower pots, patio furniture to rest, watching the squirrels ready for the cold, the new winter coats that grow on my pups… every season loving my family…especially YOU Margot & Ruby! I Love You A Bushel & A Peck ~ You Are My Sunshines!
xoxo, Mom/Gram
ps….Hometeam is one adorable pup!
Saw this and thought of you 🙂 energy of a fresh new snowfall!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hcGjJMisNqY/UJlgL3GZSVI/AAAAAAAAAGA/nbOSf8nVZRE/s1600/last_calvin.gif
My girl just recently gave in to the long sleeved shirts and pants under her summer dresses. She still refuses to wear her pink fuzzy boots, but will wear her red cowboy boots.
Her favorite, since summer, has been wearing nighties. So, once we return from our errands, she strips her clothes off, puts a nighty on, and snuggles up under a blanket.
I was looking forward to the changing seasons today after I put her socks and shoes on in between stops during our errand running. How I wished we could just slip on crocs or flip flops instead of socks and boots.
I love this:
“The benefit to four seasons is living in them and also dreaming of the next. The dreaming always happens a few months in, with a few months to go.”
So, so true. 🙂
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