She sips coffee under the Sumacs (that he would never let her grow) while the cat (that he would not let her have) rubs against her ankles.
She has the whole glorious day ahead of her. She will skip breakfast if she wants. She’ll read, before chores, from a book that was on her own reading list.
She could fry up potatoes with onions and peppers and add too much cumin seed and spill too much salsa on too much cheese and not give a second thought to carbs.
She’ll walk when she wants, where she wants, for as long as she wants.
Or she won’t walk at all.
She’ll listen to something other than Bruce or Rod or Neil.
She’ll spend time in the garden surrounded by tomatoes, pumpkins and sweet peas, even though sweet peas aren’t edible.
She’ll laugh while her son hits golf balls from a yard that used to have grass.
She’ll marvel at the sewing machine, fabric, markers, paper cutter, beads, yarn and crochet hooks strewn across the dining room.
She’ll hang her daughter’s creations on the kitchen wall and use too much computer memory for videos of her son’s golf swing.
She’ll get around to fixing dinner when they are hungry, instead of making sure that dinner hits the table at 4:30.
After dinner, they’ll slowly walk around the block because the cat is following and she likes to set the pace. They’ll laugh at the cat, wonder if the neighbors think the cat thinks she’s a dog, and not worry about burning calories.
If they can’t agree on a movie, they’ll rejoice in the fact that at some point, they’ll each get a chance to pick a flick.
They’ll eat popcorn on the couch. They’ll forget to pause the movie, throw kernels at each other and keep trying until they each catch one, and they won’t get in trouble.
They’ll head off to bed leaving shoes in the middle of the living room floor, sewing projects on the dining table, and golf balls by the front door.
With a tired, happy heart, she’ll tuck them in and tell them how proud she is of them. She will ask them to tell her of their favorite part of the day. They’ll ask her to tickle their backs and say, “Mom, there are so many favorites, I don’t know where to start.”
She’ll laugh and call them Thrivers and remind them of how lucky they are.
When they ask, “Can we do this all again tomorrow?” she’ll say, “Yes!”
Tags: a girl can dream, child of narcissist, divorce, gratitude, Parenting, thriving
“Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate. ”. –J.R.R. Tolkien
Z,
That’s what keeps me going – always wondering about a new road.
Thanks for sharing!
Reminds me of this quote that has been taped to my kitchen door for years.
Hope this was your day today! You sure deserve it!!!
The kids will need this day to happen tomorrow after the “dad visit”. Thank God they have you to help them regroup and teach them how to cope and relax.
Dee,
You were right. They needed a day to recuperate after the last visit.
Thank God I have you to vent to and share wine with.
Love you.