Enjoy Life's Everyday Gifts

When you spend time with your little one(s) do you focus only on them? Whether you are playing, tickling, laughing, dancing, singing, painting etc. are you present both body, mind and spirit or are you going over a mental to-do list? Are you thinking of how much laundry you have to get done, or about the dishes piling up in the sink? If you do, then you are a better parent than I. While I try to always give Lily my full attention, I find that all too often I am dwelling on all the things I'm going to have to do when I am done playing with her. So much so that I can't fully enjoy myself.

It is a shame, too, because I totally dig spending time with the munckin. She is easily the coolest person I know. So to remind myself why I dig spending time with her so much, I am dedicating this blog post that cool chicky-mama herself. Miss Lily Victoria Hamilton.

[in case you are wondering why I go through the hassle (and yes, there are times when it is a hassle) of doing Lily's hair everyday, this picture is a good illustration. Poor girl is constantly brushing her hair out of her eyes if I don't put it back]

I have had a lot of time to hang out with Lily over the past few months. We never do anything terribly exciting. Usually our days consist of walks around the neighborhood, bike rides to the park, dance parties and playing in the sprinklers.

And yet, she still manages to keep me entertained constantly. My days are filled with laughter and all-around silliness. She stretches my imagination and challenges me to see the world from a different perspective. Mommy and Daddy's bed, for instance, is not just a bed to the wee one. It is a vast ocean filled with sharks. The carpet is not just carpet. It is hot lava we run across to rescue the dragon. And a piece of newspaper is transformed into a treasure map, taking us on countless adventures in our quest for hidden treasure.

Just this morning we spent two hours traipsing back and forth across the back yard. We climbed over a mountain (Lily's playhouse), crossed the ocean (the lawn chairs), rescued the unicorn and found sanctuary on a beautiful beach (the grass just turned into the beach at some point. Not entirely sure when). All in search of a pirate treasure. (Lily has a thing for pirates right now)

It is very rare that Lily doesn't have a smile on her face. She finds so much joy in life that I can't help but see it there as well.

After our hunt for the pirate treasure, Lily decided that she wanted to watch a movie. So she pushed the lawn chair up to face the big, square shed in the back yard. Then she climbed on the chair, kicked back and watched her "movie".

She also situated her unicorn just right so she could see the movie too. Then she turned to me with wide grin and said "Popcorn pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaasse". I have no idea where she learned that from.

So let's recap, shall we? In the course of a morning, I climbed a mountain, swam across an entire ocean, rescured a unicorn in distress, relaxed on a beach and watched a movie. And people say being a mother isn't exciting. That's down-right thrilling, I'd say. Not even James Bond had such an action packed morning, I'd imagine.