Some days, they give me the lesson in giving

Today we went to the Arboretum. Lilly walked next to the stroller, doing a great job of staying with us (with some regular reminders and a few near-misses from the old folks’ golf cart). She stopped a lot to admire the flowers, which for Lilly means gently wrapping her arms around them and giving them a kiss. When we came to the huge hill that bottoms out at the lake, Nolan so, so wanted to run down that hill. I had misgivings. But, hey, life is short. I sprung him from the stroller and let him go. He ran fast, with total, exuberant abandon. When he fell, it was one of those toppling, head-over-heels falls. It had to take his breath away. He got up onto his knees for a bit. I ran toward him and waited for the cry. But before I could get there, he was up and running again. With absolutely no misgivings. Just the same wild abandon. Freedom! Speed! It was a beautiful moment with my beautiful child. Oh sure, it all ended with him getting seriously muddy in the pit at the bottom of the hill; refusing to leave; me carrying a screaming toddler to the stroller. But even as the spectator, I’d say it was all worth that glorious run.

I read a blog tonight by a Mom who’s diagnosed herself as a “pre-mourner.” Wasting time being sad about the days gone by while missing the days still there. She ended her post by saying that what she’s really mourning is her failure to live in the moment. This makes all the sense in the world to me.

I’ll remember today for those shining moments: flower kissing and flying down the hill like a kite. Some days, the 2-year-olds give me the lesson in giving.