Wake Up

  I have many thoughts about raising children. Some you look back on with dismay and others, you feel great pride in survival. I am a born over thinker, and worrier, so my helicopter skills as a mom were spot on maxed!! I also am a giver and receiver of much love, so that worked out well on any given day with the kids. All of my babies slept in our bed, some more than others. I ended up with very cool children, all of them. I enjoy being around them, they make me laugh. They also have never said, "Yes Mam" or "Yes Sir" or much "Please", southern mambo jumbo, gets on my nerves. You can be polite without a curtsy!! The old south, should have evolved by now, but that is a whole other can of worms. (48% of crazy is out there, I promise)
    Any how, back around to no point, our little new grandson Wyatt spent the night last night. I have been so lucky to have that  little muffin right near me, on this go round.  So this morning with Grandpa got him up, he brought him to bed with me!! He was so excited, the joy energy was jumping off of him! He was looking all around, like what are these people doing with me so early? His head would go left, then right and he was kicking his heels, squealing like a baby pig. I just wanted that moment to stand still, and know that it will not. We kissed and sung, and played, until he forced his Uma, that is me, to get up and going. It just made me think, I  hope I did that with my kids enough, just lay there and enjoy it. Hold them an extra few minutes, skip eating supper at exactly whatever time you are supposed to eat. Leave the laundry and dishes until they are napping, or leave them period. I think as I got older I did more of this, the first ones, you are so trying to get into some rhythm, babies have their own rhythm, you have to learn it. All kids need structure, I do too, but I paint with watercolors, I need freedom of movement. So do children. They need to play, read, swim, scream, throw fits, hate you, love you and for goodness sake crawl into bed with you.
     They will draw on the wall, I promise you, put a frame around it!!
      Kiss them even when they think you have cooties.
     It is not an easy job, but it is your most personal job.
     It is fall on the ground, gut wrenching, painful and if you look more often, it is joy energy jumping off onto you from all angles.
     Wyatt's parents came to get him around noon, and I just thought, Gosh we are so lucky. To wake up to a sweet baby, laughing and cooing, and joyful. WAKE UP, people, we can wake up like that every day, it is up to us, we have that joy still in us!! Buried deep, but it is still there, I just know it.
Wake up tomorrow and say, "What would Wyatt DO??? you will smile, and begin your day with love, hope and laughter. Happy Saturday from hot and humid Atlanta, GA.  It is just a beautiful day in this neighborhood, I know because I watched Daniel Tiger this morning with Wyatt, babies teach us how to find joy, that is a lesson, we should never forget.
Peace and Love
Oh and Happy Birthday, Susan Houser, I am so glad we have been friends for over fifty years. One day I will write a book about us, I promise. The stories are just too fantastic not to share.