How Sweet It Is

I close my eyes at night
Wondering where I'd be without you
Everything I did was just a bore
Everywhere I went seems I'd been there before
But you brighten up for me all of my days
With a love so sweet in so many ways
I want to stop and thank you baby
I just wanna stop and thank you baby.

How sweet it is to be loved by you,
How sweet it is to be loved by you.

                                       -- JAMES TAYLOR

What do you on a sunny Saturday afternoon when you have nothing planned? The laundry was fresh and clean. The carpet had those nice racing stripes. Muffins had been baked and the kitchen smelled so sweet. Nothing to do but enjoy love and family.  Andy was wonderful this morning and gave me the morning out to go shopping on my own.  He stayed with the kids and played games, read books, built towers, and chased little feet in circles. 

I did the same for him after lunch. He enjoyed a nice 18 holes of golf in the fresh air, away from the hustle and bustle of suburban life.  No schedule, no commitments, just chasing a little white ball around lush green grass and having great conversation with friends.

At home, Cari was not so happy that her favorite person in existance had left.  She tugged on my pants and cried, "Mommy, hold you...." as I made her peanut butter sandwich.  After I told her that we were going to each lunch soon, she looked down at her little hands, tucked her dimpled chin onto her chest and said, "I'm sad."  This was the first time she had ever verbally expressed her feelings.  I decided that after her nap, we'd have to do something to cheer her up.

We talked about taking a walk around the neighborhood.  "On stroller wheels?" she asked.  While that was more fun than sitting inside the house, it still wasn't thrilling, as you can tell.

Until I mentioned that when we returned from the walk, we'd make a mad dash through the sprinkler.

This surely got her excitement exploding. She could barely contain herself and almost lost her hat.

Into the stroller she and her little brother went.  We walked up and down the hills as Cari narrated each one and encouraged me on the way. "Mommy going uphill? Big, big mountain. Good job, Mommy."  How can you lose motivation when you have cheers like that?  On occasion, Chad would fuss and thrash in his seat, as is normal for him.  Cari would place her little hand on his arm so softly and gently pat, saying, "Ees okee, Chaddy-Chad."  This would calm him for a moment, as he loves the sound of his sister's voice. 

Sweet little Cari has never forgotten a thing.  As soon as we hit the bump at the end of the driveway, signaling that we were home, she exclaimed in her little excited voice, "Spwinkers?" This was the perfect way to cool down from a brisk walk in the muggy heat anyways.  To the backyard we tromped.  We stood under a tree for a few minutes to ease into the sprinkler as Cari kept yelling, "It's raining! Raining!" She needed just a little encouragement from me to get going, but once she figured out she could drink water from those little streams of water shooting everywhere, she was hooked. 

Chad and I took a couple runs through the sprinklers as well, but he wasn't so fond of the little droplets pelting him on his face and teeny little toes. I cannot wait until he's a little bit older and can enjoy the same fun things as his sister.  In the meantime, it is a joy to be able to still have one-on-one time, of sorts, with her during these experiences.

He enjoyed sitting and watching his crazy sister dash through the grass into and out of the sprinkler and listening to her squeals of delight.

As you can guess, she was not all to thrilled when it was time to come in.  No matter what we are doing, Cari always finishes up with a good swipe of mud to the nose and forhead. Oh, and of course into the mouth.

I didn't think much could top this afternoon. What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon that ended up being sunny rather than rainy and amazingly, not too hot.  Until, my incredibly thoughtful and loving husband came home with these..........

......which he picked on the 14th hole and placed them into his styrofoam water cup.  To think, all the while we were apart, each enjoying our relaxing and lazy Saturday, he was thinking of me.

How sweet it is to be loved by you.