Perfect Day

The day starts like many other days. I enjoy my luxurious life and laze in bed, taking a few minutes to sit in quiet before a little hobbit child busts in my room with a huge smile on his face, eager and happy to see me awake. He jumps in and we discuss important topics, like how the Hulk doesn't go to time-out.  I bet not.  When I'm getting myself ready he comes in repeatedly to kiss my leg and says, "i'm going to kiss you all day because I love you."  

After breakfast he and I play with blocks and animals. We make fences and put together a farm for them. We make a trough for them. It is a good farm and we keep it up.  We opt for the playground today and the first thing, as usual, is the swings.  When Julian swings, it is forever.  We're there before other kids and there when they leave.  He's in it for the long haul.  I use two hands to push him, still standing to the side, because it's still so boring to push him from behind.  We talk about things of the day. He tells me he's not grumpy; he's a happy astronaut.   An adorable chubby baby with a dimple chin and dark curly hair is next to us and he is laughing at us so much that we laugh too and then I share some chit-chat with the baby's mom and it's a rare occasion where i don't end up hating myself for engaging in Mom Talk.

I spend most of the playground time watching Julian play.  He runs through the fountain in his clothes, sort of interacts with other kids, looks over at me frequently, and has a great time.  We change his clothes where I accidentally put on his shorts backwards but he doesn't care so we leave it.  We walk down a pretty block of brownstones and talk about all the things we see.  Julian sees a butterfly and flips out. "I LOVE BUTTERFLIES!"

We stop at the bagel store for a plain bagel and chocolate milk.  Then we walk home sharing stories of the Titanic and singing New York State of Mind. I'm singing pretty loudly and wondering why he isn't when I see someone was sitting on the stoop we just passed.  I kind of feel like an idiot, but mostly don't.   When we get home he takes off his shoes and goes straight for the sink waiting for me to help him wash his hands.  If only i could describe to you what an ultimate achievement of my life this is.  After that I put together our picnic of bagel bites, cream cheese, peppers, cucumber, and cheese.  (And chocolate milk)   While we're sitting on the floor eating, my friend sends me a link to this video saying she shouldn't be the only one sobbing and I break down about 3 seconds in.  Watch at your own risk.  Immediately I am a complete mess. Julian and I watch it together and he pats my knee and gives me a kiss to comfort me, which makes me cry even more.   We finish our lunch and I tell him that I am going to enjoy this moment right here right now, because it won't last forever. One day he'll be 4, and 14, and 24, and things will be different, which is ok.  But I want to enjoy THIS moment.   He seems to understand.  It is a special lunch.

I do some dishes and he gets himself ready for a rest on the couch.  We read Katy and the Big Snow and I tell him (for the 975th time) about the year it snowed a Big Snow and we went to a party and he was one year old and we got stuck in the snow and buses and cars were stuck in the snow and it was so crazy. He loves this story.

We turn out the light and I sing him a song and I lay my head on his chest and he rubs my arm and I tell him I will love him forever and he says he will too, and that he will still kiss me all day because of it. And I really think I might just explode.

And I just wanted to record this day.  And now I have.