5.01.2013

the accidentally good day

I'm sure by now you've all seen Reasons My Son Is Crying. All I know is by nine o'clock in the morning yesterday, I was mentally composing an e-mail to my husband with a subject the same as the blog's title. Reasons like, he asked for a blue Curious George shirt and so I put it on him, or I didn't like it when he whacked wooden cars into the wall, or he asked for blueberries and I gave him blueberries but on the wrong side of his pancake. It was more than just his age or a phase, but something otherwise amiss. Something, I decided, like having been sick last week and cooped up in this house for more days than either of us would like.

You see, I'm a do-er. I love downtime as much as the next person, but in very strict moderation. I'm in my happy place, my comfort zone, running around town with an overwhelmingly long list of errands to be run and an even longer list of projects to be made, playdates to be going on, parks to explore. My husband is very much the opposite. He is a homebody who considers the day a wrap after maybe a trip to the park followed by a trip to the grocery store. It appears that Ethan has inherited my need to be out and exploring the world outside of these confining walls. A week stuck indoors isn't good for either of us, so it was time to seek out some fresh air.

Yesterday was what I call an accidentally awesome day. It didn't begin as such. We spent the morning at Ethan's favorite park and on the drive home, we passed by a couple of people riding horses down the street. Ethan noticed the horses first. "Horse! Neigh! Ethan, horse! Ride!" I thought of a local park with a carousel and told Ethan to hang on, that if he gave me fifteen minutes we'd go find him a horse to ride. Of course, five minutes after entering the park, the blue sky turned gray and the skies opened up. The lightning detectors were blaring. Park goers scurried into their cars, dragging behind them protesting children. We sat watching the carousel, lights turned off, music muted, a padlock put in place around the gate. The park has an accompanying indoor science museum and I figured we could spend a few minutes hopefully waiting out the storm but instead we spent almost two hours having the most fun we've had in some time. Ethan babbled about "bobots" (robots), flew balloons, learned about pulleys and dinosaur fossils. He laughed and ran around the science museum until his little eyelids grew heavy, little fists rubbing tired eyes. "Mommy? Nightnight." The rain was still pouring down outside, but we were almost two hours into what naptime usually is.

The sun finally came up late in the afternoon. Ethan and I sat on the floor, putting together puzzles. He was still muttering about horses and "nonies" (ponies), and it was hard not to notice the sunshine beaming through our windows. I slipped his shoes on and made the same promise, about getting to ride the ponies at the carousel. He laughed as he bolted down the driveway and we sang The Shins the entire way to the park. We heard the music of the carousel as soon as we parked, saw the glimmering, flashing lights. "Ooh! Nonies!"

We rode six times. His smile never left his face. As the evening grew later and the park grew quieter, I don't think either of us quite wanted the day to end. As I carried Ethan to the car, his hair damp from rain and an "accidental" stroll through the splash area of the playground, I couldn't remember the last time my heart felt so full.

4 comments:

  1. Love it when what you think is going to be a bad turns out into one of your favorites! That park looks pretty cool! I like the parks with sun shades and umbrellas like yours. The Texas sun can be brutal. Any little thing helps!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm exactly the same. I NEED to be out and about. Glad you had a fun day.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a fun day! Glad Ethan finally got to ride the 'nonies'!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have missed so much in just one month! He has gotten so big! I definitely need to go up and visit some time! We need to do a meet up! I am exactly the same way. I love relaxing and stuff, but I am my happiest when I am busy running around and keeping my mind occupied!! Ok days that turn into great days are awesome! Happy thursday babe ♥

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...