Life is sweet. I believe that. But life is also
sticky...kind of like a tangerine. Sweet things usually are.
Recently, I've been particularly adept at noticing how
sticky I feel. Mermaid has become quite the climber. Her new skills have imbued her with unprecedented bravado. We've chased her down storm drains, under fences, into traffic, and even out the window. Aren't prepositions great?! Ironically, her growing competence makes her more difficult to protect. I am on alert and it's exhausting.
Did I mention she locked herself in the men's lavatory at a state park? It's okay. The ranger had her out within 30 minutes, but not before an entire dynasty of Chinese picnickers having a family reunion tried picking the lock with each other's credit cards.
Oh yeah, and there are four more amazing growing individuals with unique needs and desires that also call me Mom. The list of things that need doing is pretty long. I think about it a lot. The list of things that actually get done is rather short. I generally disregard it because I'm thinking about the long list. No wonder I feel so
sticky!
Maybe I need to loosen up and stick my tongue out at the long list. The short list covers eating meals together and making music every day. The short list includes communicating with God and moving the miraculous bodies He gave us. The short list features playtime and rosy cheeks whether from wind or sunshine. The short list has snuggle time and story time. The short list provides a space for conversation and spontaneous play dates.
When the ranger liberated Mermaid from the men's lavatory, she threw her arms around his waist and said, "Can you love me?" Yeah, I have time for that. It's on the short list. I'm not going to stick my proverbial fingers in my ears and whine
Nyah, Nyah at the long list because high school transcripts, IEPs, home improvements, thank you notes, laundry, and other worthy causes really should be on a to-do list somewhere in my life. But when I stick my tongue out at it I'm sure to remember that life is so
sticky precisely because it is so incredibly
sweet...kind of like a tangerine.
