And So It Goes

And so it goes that in the midst of an ordinary week extraordinarily simple things are happening that seem to be having a big impact.  Nothing crucial, nothing out of the norm per say, just things that move life forward and are cause for a moments worth of reflection.

1.  We are swiftly approaching the 1 year anniversary of the Loin Fruit's birth.  It is just another Tuesday but in the words of my mom, "This is his next to last Tuesday to be an 11 month old."  Simple.  Yet huge.  My baby is turning into not so much of a baby anymore.  He walks.  He talks, I can't understand him but he talks more than anyone I know.  He feeds himself.  The newest best thing he does, which started yesterday, is full on head tilted backwards laughter.  It's pretty great.  He just starts laughing and tosses his head back with reckless abandon.

2.  I am a couple of scenes away from finishing another play.  Again, not finished, but I can see the finish line.  To most folks this isn't a big deal.  It shouldn't be.  But I am finishing something.  Finishing a creative writing project as opposed to just thinking about finishing one does wonders for the psyche.

3.  I contacted a local nursery (the garden kind) that I would like to feature in an article I am writing on container gardening.  Just part of a days work but it feels good to be active and in a forward motion.  I like this movement thing.  It suites me.

4.  I had someone else enroll in my on-camera technique class for teens.  That's a whole 2 people for those of you who are keeping count.  Still, it is more than one.  Not enough for a class yet but a third of the way there.

5.  I ran and did cross-fit today.  Ok, I'm sneaking this in because I exercise everyday but now I am following a half-marathon training program and I stuck to the work out for the day.  I like having a plan.  So does my friend Kjacks.  She inspired me to have a plan of my own.  I don't need motivation to work out because I am a recovering anorexic, we don't need the extra incentive to move.  I do like having goals though and this program helps me to visualize them, literally.

6.  We are having  a team dinner tonight.  Be jealous.  We have an amazing group of friends here.  They have made life in the heat bearable.  Team tour guide (M and E) decided we should have team names.  I think this came about after the beginning of the Hunger Games hysteria which K, M, and myself wholeheartedly joined in on.  M and E are Team Tour Guide because, despite living here much less than the rest of us, they seem to know where all the cool places are.  Because they are cool.  And we are not.  And that is okay.  R and K are Team Fail...not my story to tell but it is nice to know that you can laugh in the midst of sorrow and then keep on laughing once the sorrow passes.  E has a new proposal for them though:  Team Fancy.  I think it fits.  R and K love to eat on china with cloth napkins and when there is the slightest cause to dress up count them in.  Perhaps they will fail with fancy and then adopt the name:  Team Fancy Fail.  Hot Papa and I are Team TMI (too much information).  We don't have great filters on our mouths.  Sometimes that's a good thing.  Sometimes, when a situation calls for discretion, we are the people you don't want around.  Thankfully we have friends who accept us farts and all (see too much info.  you didn't need to know that we fart a lot...but we do, haha).

Anyway, it is just another day.  But the thing is, it really isn't.

My Kid Rules

The loin fruit loves the water.  That's an exceptional thing since we live in Florida and are encased by water on both sides and in multiple backyards.  

I never expected that the smile and utter fascination to captivate me the way that it does.
I am lost in it.  On a boat ride with Big Granny, he positions himself at the bow and watches over us all.

Seriously, look at that booty.  How can you not smile?

My baby changed my world and if you have one you know what I mean.  Your baby may be your dog, cat, or human.  No matter.  Seeing life through the eyes of another changes you.  It changed me.
The loin fruit has made me a better person.  He has shown me that every moment is worth celebrating.  Every moment is worth experiencing to the fullest.  Should your time require tears.  Cry away!!
Should your moment require dancing, by all means dance like a fool.  Bounce like no one is watching.  Drop it like it's hot over and over again.

I long to live the life of a child (not that I want to take a dump in my underwear.  I appreciate the toilet and modern plumbing).  I do, however, long to live a life of newness.  A life that is fully conscious.  A life that celebrates newness.  A life that honors the honesty of the moment.

The loin fruit has taught me this.

He is young.  He is but a babe.  He has changed my outlook.

To live everyday with awe and appreciation.  Maddox has inspired me to do just that.