My five year old is such a wisp of fresh air sometimes. Other times, she's stifling! The tides roll that fast with her and hopefully you're trained in riptide battles!
On her good days however she offers insightful glances at life through the dazzling hazel eyes I gave her. Reminders to me as a mother and a person-- that life isn't what I think it is sometimes. It's better.
We were riding through my neighborhood last Fall hurrying home to do who knows what when she stopped me in my tracks with a tiny little sentence. A perfect share for "St. Patrick's Day."
I was off in mom land thinking of this and that and that and this and missing life all around me as I often do. I'm honest at best and I'm good and bad at most things including motherhood.
We were rolling through the neighborhood and it happens to be a little bit of an older neighborhood. Full of houses and full of inhabitants. Most likely, some of the first planned developments in the area and easily 25 -30 years old.
At the time, I had downsized. Downsized my life. Downsized our family. Downsized my heart. It was such a fresh, hard time.
A separation from my 13 years of marriage was brand new and I was quickly transported from a cookie cutter 350K dream housing development to a patio home, rented monthly.
At the time I didn't think much. I just was surviving. It's what you do.
No longer did we pass perfectly manicured lawns on our way to school. No longer did we swing by doors laden with perfectly pinterest'ing pottery barn wreaths.
We rode past small ranch homes built of brick. Weathered from time and obviously lived in. They were houses I'd never in my 350K life, have considered. What a snob I was. I paid no attention but Mady did.
All of the sudden as she was glancing at house after house that skimmed by her window. Her hazel eyes taking in a new neighborhood through the glass of my honda and the backseat where her booty sat.
On her good days however she offers insightful glances at life through the dazzling hazel eyes I gave her. Reminders to me as a mother and a person-- that life isn't what I think it is sometimes. It's better.
We were riding through my neighborhood last Fall hurrying home to do who knows what when she stopped me in my tracks with a tiny little sentence. A perfect share for "St. Patrick's Day."
I was off in mom land thinking of this and that and that and this and missing life all around me as I often do. I'm honest at best and I'm good and bad at most things including motherhood.
We were rolling through the neighborhood and it happens to be a little bit of an older neighborhood. Full of houses and full of inhabitants. Most likely, some of the first planned developments in the area and easily 25 -30 years old.
At the time, I had downsized. Downsized my life. Downsized our family. Downsized my heart. It was such a fresh, hard time.
A separation from my 13 years of marriage was brand new and I was quickly transported from a cookie cutter 350K dream housing development to a patio home, rented monthly.
At the time I didn't think much. I just was surviving. It's what you do.
No longer did we pass perfectly manicured lawns on our way to school. No longer did we swing by doors laden with perfectly pinterest'ing pottery barn wreaths.
We rode past small ranch homes built of brick. Weathered from time and obviously lived in. They were houses I'd never in my 350K life, have considered. What a snob I was. I paid no attention but Mady did.
All of the sudden as she was glancing at house after house that skimmed by her window. Her hazel eyes taking in a new neighborhood through the glass of my honda and the backseat where her booty sat.
She saw something in that neighborhood that made ME see something in my life.
"Awwwwwwwww!!!!" she exclaimed.
"What!? What is it?" I asked worriedly.
"Awwwwww…. They are THO LUCKY!" she spouted with a perfect little 5 year old lisp.
"Awwwwwwwww!!!!" she exclaimed.
"What!? What is it?" I asked worriedly.
"Awwwwww…. They are THO LUCKY!" she spouted with a perfect little 5 year old lisp.
"Who's lucky?" I asked.
"They are!" she said pointing to some of the houses.
"They are!" she said pointing to some of the houses.
What? I thought? LUCKY? Lord, what did she know.
"They are THOoooooooooo LUCKY!" she continued.
"Why Mady? Why are they THO lucky sweetheart?" I asked. I just could not imagine what she was going to say. What did she see in these houses?
She answered.
"They have Wishing Wells!" she said.
It actually sounded like this… and it's a sentence we all mimic now with smiles on our faces. "They are THO LUCKY! They have Withing Wellz!"
"They are THOoooooooooo LUCKY!" she continued.
"Why Mady? Why are they THO lucky sweetheart?" I asked. I just could not imagine what she was going to say. What did she see in these houses?
She answered.
"They have Wishing Wells!" she said.
It actually sounded like this… and it's a sentence we all mimic now with smiles on our faces. "They are THO LUCKY! They have Withing Wellz!"
WISHING WELLS?
Mady had noticed that most of the homes in that neighborhood had front yards that housed one thing. A wishing well. Each home had built a decorative wooden wishing well in the front yard. The wells were built to cover the gas meters that were sorely stuck in the middle of their front yard! Almost every house had one.
Mady thought they were "LUCKY!"
What an eye opener.
Those people probably have more money than I do. Or perhaps they don't. They probably have lost loved ones and have possibly even gone through what I've gone through. They probably have leaks in their homes and they've probably spent paychecks adding on to make them bigger. But Mady thought they were lucky because they had wishing wells.
If we could all just be so enamored by the simple things.
I ride by that neighborhood day in and day out and I look at the houses a little
different.
They are THO lucky.
And so am I. My life is one big blessing no matter the challenges. Thanks Mady for helping me see the little things.
I'm THO lucky.
I hope you find your "Wishing Well" this St. Patrick's Day.
