Life is Good

Thursday is usually a busy day for me. Today was no exception.
However, earlier this afternoon I was thinking of the day's events and I thought to myself "You know, this day was quite good!"
Here is why:

1. I got an unexpected gift today. Thursday is one of my volunteer days at the boys' school and today Mary, the school secretary, brought me flowers from her garden. Mary is a gardener and she lives on a large piece of property in the inland empire. Today she not only brought me flowers but she also brought me a succulent to plant at my house. I told her recently how Im not very good at gardening. I have what they call a black thumb: I cant seem to keep plants alive. I mentioned to her that I would like to try planting succulents because Ive heard they are hearty and difficult to kill. I feel touched that she not only listened to me, but that she acted on it. The succulent she gave me today is actually one that I have admired on my neighborhood walks. It was such a thoughtful gift and so very appreciated.

2. At dinner, Finn ate his usual 2+ servings of rice. That was predictable. What wasnt predictable is that he also ate two servings of chicken. Usually I have to coax him into finishing his one serving. Today, he asked for seconds. Yipeeeeeee! Both my kids are painfully skinny so when they eat, it makes me feel good.

3. Today while in the nurse's office, I got 1.5 hours of uninterrupted reading time. That is very unusual and I enjoyed it thoroughly. While the nurse's office isnt typically hopping, I do get intermittent kids coming and going throughout the afternoon. Today there was nothing. The book Im reading right now is called The Known World by Edward P. Jones. I picked it up at Costco and its good. Im enjoying the style of writing a lot. While Im reading it, I feel like I can hear the author telling it to me - like oral history.

4. Today I probably heard "Yes Mama" about 5-8 times. What a beautiful sound that is! Seamus got grounded this week and he seems to be taking his lumps very well. He seems to be cognizant that he has some make up work to do... with me! I like the sound of "Yes Mama" much more than the usually "I know" or " I will." It feels good to enjoy his minor victories. "Yes Mama" is a victory for sure.

5. A situation that was troubling me at school has been resolved. It didnt involve me or the kids. It was just yucky stuff involving people I care about. I heard from "the horse's mouth" that all is well. Thank God!

6. This evening the opera song "Nessun Dorma" came on shufffle and Seamus began singing it in make believe Italian. It was very sweet: he knew the melody, but made up the words completely. Afte the song was over, he came over to me in the kitchen, put his arms around my waist and said "I really miss Italy. Please take me when you go back. "

7. Today Seamus had his second club soccer practice of the year. Matt picked him up from his first; today's duty was mine. When I arrived at the field, I was greeted by some old friends and the sight of them made me smile. Last year, Matt and I spent a lot of time with the parents of Seamus' teammates. I hadnt seen or talked to many of them since last December when our season ended. It was great to get reacquainted; to catch up and fall back into the same routines as last year. It was also super cool to see some new faces in the crowd - one of them being the father of Seamus' good friend from Beaumont Elementary, Jackson. He and his family are new to our team and Im so excited to be "reunited" with them again.

8. Camp Pendleton was really booming this evening. For those who dont know, we live pretty close to a Marine Corps base. Vista is a hilly city and its not uncommon to hear and feel the practice shelling of the Marines vibrating the windows of our house. This evening, the booming was unusually frequent. It sounded like distant thunder rolling through the night. I decided to open the front door and check out if what I was hearing was real and when I did, I was greeted by four junebugs on the screen door. Ahhhhhhhhh! Ive been so busy the past few weeks that I havent noticed the junebugs! Every year, when the junebugs arrive it means summer is right around the corner. Seeing them on the screen made me so happy. Im very ready for summer. Its my favorite time of the year.

Today didnt feel like a Thursday. It wasnt crazy, busy and tiring. In fact, I would call today a good day! Maybe I need to dissect each of my days in order to view them more accurately. Here's hoping Friday will be equally good.

Happy Thursday.