greek yogurt and local raw honey, which honestly doesn't have much to do with anything other than it makes me happy
Aliza Joy woke up too early this morning, as is her habit. At 5:15 she stumbled into our room where I was awake and sipping coffee and reading. Well. That simply will not work, not that early. So I turned off the lamp and pulled her into bed with me. With my arm wrapped around her, I could feel how long and full and slender she is becoming. So Big Kid.
When we were away last month, Kyle and I were visiting with one of Kyle's mentor-type friends who was watching the girls as they ran around with the other kids there, hyper and cuckoo and wired as children will be at grown-up gatherings. Kyle's friend remarked that "from now on, they'll remember everything, and it will be so much fun." His girls are grown and gone and ours are here and now.
As I snuggled with AJ this morning, I thought about how I am responsible for guiding them in to the memories that will take them through the rest of their years on this planet. Not solely responsible for creating those memories - that's too much. No, rather I am responsible for setting the stage upon which their childhood will be acted out.
* * * * *
All year, I've been focusing on GIVE. It probably goes without saying that last month's theme was CREATE. And we are still creating summer because it is still very much summer, but now my focus is shifting to responsible. Which, on the surface, can be kind of a bummer word, right?
Poor Responsible. Always the word that gets called on to guilt someone into doing The Right Thing. Responsible is the one you give Side Eyes to, and then you sigh, and then you do the thing you didn't want to do but you had to because, well, it was the responsible thing to do.
(or is it just me?)
This month, I want to let Responsible off the hook a little bit. I want to sit down with her and thank her for all the good that she does in the world, all the good that she does in my life. I want her to know that she is good and appreciated and necessary.
I want to focus on the best parts of responsibility in my life - in the tangible and intangible alike.
So this month, I'm throwing a party for Responsible, complete with cupcakes and confetti. I think it's time to celebrate her good work. Don't you?
