A week’s worth of smiles

Seven things that made me smile today:

7.  Putting away “stuff” today, I remembered I got a double Qwirkle in the game that Brad, Maren and I played on a school night after we tucked Greta into bed.  Qwirkle is our current favorite game, and double Qwirkle-ing is elusive and awesome.  Maren is competitive with the grown-ups at board games now and I love that she legitimately beats me.  (But I won that night.)

Big kids are fun in totally different ways than little kids.  The fact that my “big” kid is seven is not lost on me; she’s still little!  I treasure each year for different reasons.

6.  Greta can write her name.  Sort of.  She can’t do the “e”.  (In her defense, think about the mechanism of an uppercase G and then a lowercase e.  It’s tricky, people.)  This happened all of a sudden; we went from scribbles to G’s everywhere to her name in two weeks.  Boom.  There’s a reason I often type “Great” when I’m trying to type “Greta”.  She’s Greta the Great.

I love kid art and kid writing.  (She’s written “GrGta”in pink crayon because she believes pink and purple are the only colors worthy of existence.)

5.  I have a snowman in my front yard.  She’s awesome, and the four of us had so much fun — and so many giggles — building her on Saturday.  We had an epic snow week with ten consecutive no school days, and we *loved* it.  Our traditions are play in the snow, make hot chocolate with marshmallows, no chores for kids (and as few as possible for Mom), bake something in the oven and eat it while it is still warm, and include neighborhood friends.

Snow days are one of childhood’s greatest thrills.

4.  I have an event coming up that requires cocktail attire, so I am trying to figure out what to wear.  Dressing my breast-less body is a challenge, but I’ve figured out normal clothes and tackled swim suits the past two summers.  Formal(ish) wear is new for me, and fashion is not intuitive for me.  I tried several dresses on for Brad one night and he gave me good, constructive, loving feedback.  I felt more beautiful after than before.  He’s a man’s man and this is not his thing, but I am so appreciative of the way he loves me.

He’s always so careful with my heart; I feel safe with him, always.  I love that he is my partner in teaching our girls about love.

3.  Both my sisters are in tropical locations.  I’m jealous, but happy for what their current geography says about them.  They are dream-chasing, turning their face to the sun, and taking care of themselves so they can best love others.

Isn’t that a life truth?  Your capacity to love others is capped by the love you have for yourself.  Love big, people.  Love big.  You are worth it.

2.  My family room suddenly looks like grown-ups live in my house.  The furniture matches, and it’s filled with light, Happy Thought Bubbles, clocks, and art featuring people and places I love.

I have mixed feelings — and some denial — about actually being a grown-up, but I love that my space makes me smile.

1.  My car.  I got an oil change yesterday, and realized that I’ll hit 200,000 miles before my next oil change.  Since I got the car when I was 22, I still see it filled with the hopes and dreams I saw in it when my dad and I bought it thirteen years ago.  My whole adult life has happened while driving that car.

And, blessed me, most of those fuzzy, big, out-of-focus dreams I had for my life when I was 22 have come true, sharper and more brilliant than I could have imagined.