Memories to laugh about

I haven't been writing because I am reading a really excellent book right now, called The Lacuna. It's so good, in fact, that I have been cheating on my blog and other household duties and spending every spare sleeping-kid second with it. Give me a historical fiction novel set in the 1930's with Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Trotsky, Stalin, the Revolution, and the brewing of WW2 all set in Mexico City and I'm a happy camper. In fact, every place they mention in the book (including the homes they are living in), every mural they discuss, and every market they shop in, I have been to and seen in person. This is awesome, but it is also making me miss Mexico terribly. I really wish that I could go back to my high school self and make me pay just a little more attention to the history I was living right smack in the middle of. Instead I was just worried about finishing my math problems and trying not to fight with my siblings. Hindsight is 20/20 of course. And when you are sixteen, well, life has different priorities than it does when you're ten years later and looking back.

Speaking of looking back, Eric and I took a long walk with the kids yesterday to a park that sits at the top of a hill and overlooks a baseball diamond at the bottom. There was a Jr. High softball game going on, and I kept stealing glances as I chased Lyla away from the kids on the swings every thirty seconds or so. As a former Jr. High softball player, I had some fond memories as I watched the girls pitch and field and swing the bat. I realized how much I miss it. Not softball, necessarily, but I miss the freedom and fun of just being a kid.

Being a parent of two kids at 26 years old has its pros and cons for sure. During the time that they are so little, it is a difficult season of life for sure. I love it, all the smiles and silly giggles and cuddles and discoveries. But it can also be a taxing time, with all the strong, untamed emotions and constant needs - and sometimes I do want to run away and hide for a little while when the day gets really crazy.

Eric recently had a change in his carpool to work situation and now he is driving every day out to his office in the suburbs and back. I am fortunate to live in the city and be able to have a handful of parks within walking distance and public transportation for the not so close places, but this has definitely meant a change of pace for us. I have never been one to make myself overly busy in the first place (my personality would never allow for that), but with the option of driving taken away from me, I have been trying to be more intentional about our life here at home, namely, with parenting my oldest.

I loved being a kid. I had so much fun. Most of my memories are from when I was older than three, of course, but it still makes me want to make sure that Lexi truly is encouraged to love her life. I am trying to say "Yes" more, let her make some plans, engage in play with her instead of observing while I do something else.

Kids have there own way of enjoying life, though. And I don't quite understand it sometimes. On Saturday, at the forest preserve where all these pictures are from, Lexi refused to walk through the grasses, the woods, and to walk at all, actually. She whined most of the three hours that we spent there. But then when we asked her at home what her favorite part of the day was, she said, "Walking through the tall grass."

At the end of our walk to the park yesterday we passed a fountain that Lexi had asked to stop and play in on the way there. On the way home, she got her wish. She got in, played, loved it, and got wet. When she got out of the fountain, she screamed and cried because her pants were wet. "Well, what did you expect?" didn't really get through to our child of all dramatics, who continued screaming and throwing herself around, drawing as much attention as she could, of course. Eric and I laughed, made her get back in the stroller, and then made jokes about her screaming, which got her quiet really fast, remarkably. When we were home and eating dinner together we asked her what her favorite part of the day was, to which she replied, "Playing in the fountain."

I have no idea really what this post is about except for nonsensical rambling, and perhaps how memories are made. Maybe having a perfect wonderful day where there aren't any kid episodes isn't what makes for a kid's favorite memory. Maybe it's riding on your dad's shoulders getting your arms and legs brushed by tall scratchy grasses or riding home in the stroller in wet pants from playing in the fountain. Maybe it's more about the people you are with than the things you actually do. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I said "Yes" instead of what would be easiest or most practical. It makes for some good memories for me too, as long as I can remember to laugh about it and not take it so personally when emotions suddenly run hot.

I am so thankful for my girls. I am thankful for this season of their childhood and don't want to just look ahead to the next stage. I want to enjoy them and be a family and make the good, laughable memories right here, right now. :-)