Stopping to Smell the Roses

Today wasn't particularly easy (this is me trying to be honest). But it wasn't exactly hard either (still being honest). In fact, if anything, it was just kind of a blah, boring day. 

I really struggle to play and engage with CJ when it is just she and I together, all day, at home. Give me a stack of books to read to her, and I'm happy. Or put her next to me in the kitchen to bake cookies, and everything is peachy. But today she just wanted to play. And I can only play cars (her current favorite make-believe game) for so long. Hide-and-seek with hotwheels cars named "Tindy," "Hotty," and "Jeff" loses its charm after the forth time. By the tenth time...there just aren't words.

So when we both got a bit frustrated - me bored and her whiny - we definitely needed a change of scenery. We went outside into the lovely tropical warmth and walked around our neighborhood. We strolled to the end of the cul-de-sac, and we stood on our tiptoes to see over the high cement wall where there is a cage full of huge parrots. CJ was convinced she could communicate with them by doing a sing-song cawing. 

Soon the tropical heat became more than bathwater-warm, and we decided to start walking back home. As we rounded the corner near the tennis courts, CJ stopped abruptly. She thrust out her arm to keep me from crushing a flower with my flip flop. Then she stooped down to retrieve a small white blossom that had fallen from a nearby tree. She put the petals to her nose and breathed deeply.

"Smell this, Mom! It smells beautiful!"

I did. I held the soft petals to my nose and inhaled. It smelled wonderful. CJ gathered more blossoms, and we spent a few lovely moments literally stopping to smell the flowers.

I had my iphone with me and CJ insisted I document the smelling...yes, she has a flare for dramatics.

I am thankful for this final child of mine who challenges me and gets me down on my hands and knees to play cars. Because of her, my life is far from lonely. Because of her, there are cars to hide, parrots to sing to, and flowers to save. Because of her, I stop to smell the roses.