The Perfect Day

Today was a perfect day--one of those I want to find a way to stuff into a green glass bottle, stuff a cork into the top of and hide it away on a shelf so that I can find it months or even years later, take it back out and feel a rush of rememberance.

It wasn't anything special, mind you. The weather was perfect. The sun was out, the sky was a brilliant turquoise blue and it was in the 80s. We did some running around in the am and then came home. I sat out in the sun with Nicole and Coryn. We hit each other with water and generally had a good time, reading and talking. Caspian wandered in and out and J was, as usual, busy with Volkswagen parts and such. The long afternoon wound down peacefully. Nicole and Caspian took off and biked/scootered to the grocery store for some dinner extras while I made sloppy joes. I cooked in the kitchen, dancing to music on the radio and smooching with my hubby in between adding the onions and the garlic. We all ate out on the deck under the umbrella table and I was reminded of doing the same with my parents so many summers long ago. Each memory is full of love.

We chatted and laughed and told jokes and stories and it was just a golden time. Everyone was at ease, not rushing off somewhere. I had no work I had to hurry up and get done. There were no schedules for the moment.

Nicole is preparing the yard for a bonfire later tonight, and of course, the ingredients for s'mores are at hand. She will start it while I am at swimming class today and I will come home tired and ready for a sweet treat before bed.

Sweetest of all, however, was just being with the family and enjoying each other. No angst. No arguments. No tension. No problems. No issues. Just appreciating each other and the moment. With them all growing up so fast, I know that these moments are fleeting and precious, so I want to hang onto them with both fists as long as possible. One of my children has already gone her own way and is missed every day. Now, the second one is poised on the edge of leaving the nest and benturing out into the "real" world and soon her brothers will follow. For now, I just want to stop time for a moment and say, Look! Look at us! We just had the most perfect day.