A Night with my Little Guy

You have probably figured out by now that I am one of those insanely sentimental mothers that carries way too many pictures in her purse, cries on birthdays, and loves watching her child sleep. I never thought that I would be that person, but I am. I love all of the silly little moments that make life significant, and there seem to be so many more of those with a two year old around. Now that I am back at work, Mike ends up spending a lot of time with Carter in the afternoons during the week. While I am thrilled that he is at home with Daddy, I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I am a bit jealous that Mike gets to be home with our boy without me. All of this brings me to Monday night. Mike is back in school and has class this semester on Monday nights. I miss him while he is gone, but also really enjoy getting to have that quality time with just Mommy and Carter.

We are finally in that season of the year where it is still warm enough outside to wear shorts but cool enough to enjoy being outside in the evenings. If you end up outside at just the right time the colors look so vibrant, the birds are singing, and it feels like the whole world is just as it should be. That was the case on Monday night. Carter and I picked up some "duck bread" and decided to venture out across the street.

Regardless of how many times we have gone to feed the ducks, Carter gets excited every time. He runs right up to the edge of the water and starts talking to the poor birds. "Hi baby ducks. Hi white duck. Eat bread ducks. Quack Quack Quack!" I think they are starting to get used to him but they definitely keep their distance. I stood back and watched him absolutely delight in the simplest of activities and completely savored one of those "life is good" moments.

When we ran out of bread, Carter grabbed my hand and we headed for home. We were playing and being silly and doing all of the things that a grown woman can only do when she is holding hands with her little guy in the park and all of a sudden Carter sat down in the grass. Fully wrapped up in the moment, I sat down with him. We ended up laying on our backs in the grass, looking at the clouds, and having as much of a conversation as we could given his rather limited vocabulary. It was such a pure and spontaneous moment. Life just doesn't get any better than this!