Everyday moments...

Ok, this was actually written in my journal yesterday but it is my blog post for today.

Today is my birthday. My husband let me sleep in. He thought our daughter had joined me to sleep too. What he didn't realize was that she was happily playing with her Strawberry Shortcake dolls and waking me up occasionally to help her dress a doll, or to paint my face with a dry paintbrush. I was staying in bed because I had been told that I wasn't to go downstairs. I thought this was all part of the plan. Then the phone rang and my husband came into the room. He was surprised to see us busy at play. He took our daughter downstairs and then they returned with breakfast on a tray. I'm not sure I've ever been served breakfast in bed before. Such a treat! My son helped himself to the bowl of blueberries as I ate. I gave my son and my daughter a slice of the raisin toast.

Afterwards they presented me with a big box. Inside was a garden gnome water gauge and a gnome planter. Gnome, sweet gnome! They had decorated the kitchen with balloons. My daughter insisted we were both birthday girls. My son decided he must be the birthday boy. I don't mind sharing my special day.

I had a bad headache and went back to bed for a 20 minute nap that ended up lasting hours. When I woke up, I joined everyone in the backyard. My husband was washing our window screens. A task I usually perform. That was definitely the birthday highlight for me. I got out the video camera to record the kids playing in the backyard. My son was doing something very cute. As always, when I press record, the action stops. This is why I don't use our video camera often enough. I usually miss the moment. It is sometimes better to just watch the cuteness and try to burn it into my memory before the moment passes. I began recording and my daughter was goofing for the camera. I made a comment to my husband that I had missed the special moment I had hoped to record. That is when my husband made a comment, unknowingly revealing my "lesson" for the day.

He said "the lesson here is that these are the special moments. The reality is that there are really special moments that never get documented. But the everyday, the not so special moments... those are special too because you live most of your life in the everyday". So, let me enjoy witnessing cuteness that doesn't make it onto film, and to embrace the less than perfect moments, like when my daughter makes "poopy" talk on camera. This is all part of life that is happening now. Life that is fleeting. Life that is ordinary and treasured forever.