Sunday Citar

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.” 
~Henry David Thoreau

This week I gave myself a day, a gift of a full twenty-four hours, twenty-four of those sandy drains of the hour glass, where I was completely present.  1440 minutes for me to just breathe and just be. 24 rotations of the small hand around the clock where I didn’t work.  And Aliyah and I had ourselves a mama date. Something both of us have been needing lately.  Just her and I.

Well, except for the part about not working, I may have slipped a couple of little errands in there somewhere, but not too much, I promise.  And also the part about the mama date.  Oh we certainly had one, but Brayden joined in on the fun as well.  Although he was as happy and content as a quiet little clam, being toted around from place to place on girly missions.

Our first mission started with the ultimate girly treat, a pedicure for me with a certain little babe slumped into the crook of my arm for a nap, and a fresh coat of lime green paint adorning those tiny little girl fingernails for her.  Then off to the mall we went, making sure to heap our pockets full of pennies for the fountain we knew we’d inevitably meet.

Our next mission landed us at the store of her choice, the puppy store, where the first puppy we played with was a cute little rambunctious fellow.

And by rambunctious, I mean Aliyah stayed on a stool the entire time we played with him so as not to be jumped on, licked or nibbled on.

So, we opted to play with much calmer, soon-to-be-stuffed, variety of animals.  And once she found the perfect pet, helped press the foot-pedal that stuffs that creature to life.

But being ever adventurous, we decided to give another live puppy a chance and went for another whirl in a playpen with one.  A calm one, as Aliyah says.  And that she was, completely happy to lay out on my little love’s legs waiting for that shy little hand to pet her.  These two took to each other right away, and it was all I could do to keep from leaping to the check-out and adding another member to our family.

But we definitely don’t need any more new additions just yet.

So instead claiming the dainty little maltese as our own, I offered up the cinema as an alternate, and that offer was accepted with enthusiasm.  To further sweeten the deal, we stopped of at one of our favorite jaunts, the bookstore, to burn up every bit of excess time before our flick began.

We settled in, popcorn in hand, pint-size stuffed puppies watching alongside in cupholders, and I inhaled every bit of moment I could, because these moments don’t last forever.

Even now, as I write, my eyes tear up because I know those moments pass so quickly.  Looking back at old photos of my little when she really was ever so little, when we stopped off by the side of the road to watch the ocean, on our way to the San Diego Zoo, wind blowing our hair, and we take that moment to cuddle.  Moments of that ear to ear smile that reaches all the way to my soul.  The car rides home where she beams a sweet, childlike “Wow, we did so much things today, mama.”  And my heart leaps.