Feeling 'Normal'

This has been a bittersweet weekend in our house. Sweet because the weather is beautiful and we have spent so much time inside, but sad because we are missing a member of our family this weekend.

The neighborhod next to our slum, Valencia, had a neighborhood-wide garage sale yesterday morning. We cut short Sam's Saturday morning cartoons to hurry over and see if we could find anything good. Valenica is the known for its multi-million dollar mansions, so we were hoping to find a barely-used Bellini crib, McClarren stroller that hadn't been recalled or something--anything!-- for #2. Alas, the pickings were slim. Sam had fun wandering from garage to garage, playing with other kids toys. We didn't even have to buy him anything as long as we stopped long enough for him to peruse the wares. Everyone was kind enough to let him test out all the toys without actually purchasing anything.

After our morning jaunt to Bucky's we drew sidewalk chalk figures in front of our house. We had an albino tree frog perched outside our front door for a few days a week or two ago and everytime Sam and I saw it we said, "No no no, Mr. Frog, you don't come in our house." So everytime Sam sees a frog now, he wags his finger at it and reminds it, "No no no." So I drew a frog and Elise drew an umbrella sheltering the sidewalk from pink heart-shaped raindrops.

After naps, we embarked on a photo shoot. The results posted below. We capped off a beautifully mellow day with a platter filled with homemade nachos. Elise and I sat at the dinner table and Sam sat by himself at the counter. Not exactly the perfect family meal dynamic, but the most tranquil and most family-like dinner we have had in awhile. At least he wasn't clamoring to get up in Elise's lap for the umpteenth night in a row.

I am thankful for everything we have, but especially thankful that I have a goal to work toward. It frees my mind from the spiralling trap of worry and negative thoughts and allows me to appreciate skipper-dees basking on the trail in the noon sun and a beer that feels well deserved for a change. We have a long road ahead of us, but we have an even longer road behind us in a car with no rear mirror.