extra time
March 28, 2011 § 1 Comment
I regularly scramble for extra time, reaching deep into the recess of my day for moments to spend; school day routines leaving little time between Good Morning and Good Night for indulgent moments of exploration. This year, when Spring vacation emptied my days of obligations, I made plans to spend my extra time on the little things that I casually set aside for Later and often get shuffled to Never.
We are tumbling into dreams long past bedtime, waking without abrasive alarms, and eating meals unrushed with extra helpings of chatter. Our schedules are empty of Must and sprinkled with Why Not. We are vacationing from Normal and nurturing our spirits with people, places, and things that are too often lost to routines.
Instead of packing our bags for warmer weather, we are loading into our car and navigating our way to familiar favorites. A store filled with miscellaneous nonsense promises hours of backyard adventures courtesy of healthy imaginations. We are building new lands out of Legos and baking banana bread to sustain us on our journeys. We are filling journal pages, marking moments in time with words.
Today, an unexpected invitation gifted my son time with a friend and I discovered stolen moments with my daughter. Normally pulled in two directions, I let my daughter lead me from one moment to the next. We painted pottery and polished her ten tiny pigs purple. Later, when her brother returned home, they swapped stories laced with satisfied smiles, happy for distractions that deviated from the predictable pattern of their days.
I catch myself looking ahead to the rest of our week, eager to explore and happy to hold tightly to our time together.
scribblechic 
…*sigh*…love