A Perfect Day

I am a list maker. I am a planner. I am a dreamer. I admit I have a list, a criterion of sorts, of what constitutes my perfect day. It usually involves the beach, but other than the fact that we were no where near the beach; today was my perfect day.

We celebrated Jameson's birthday at the gym. She was appreciative and happy. We had a great time playing with the kids. Sometimes I fear that I spend way too much time cleaning and running around and not nearly enough time actually PLAYING with my kids. So anytime I can run around and act like an idiot, jumping on a trampoline, pl aying indoor soccer and doing cartwheels, I take advantage of it.

As I have stated, I am a planner. Usually everything we do is well thought out and planned by me. Although I must admit, sometimes the best times we have are those that are not planned.

After the party, we spontaneously decided to go out to eat with our friends Jeff and Charity. We decided to go to our new favorite place - Red Robin. Jeff and I are quite sentimental about the endless french fries. No not really, Red Robin is where Jeff and I went after our first adoption informational meeting, and where we shook hands and agreed that we would jump in with both feet and finally adopt! I guess you could say that's where we did the deed and got paper pregnant... well maybe we shouldn't go there....

During dinner, I mentioned that the Springfield Symphony was giving a performance at the Park downtown beginning at dusk. I had not planned on going because we are in the middle of some weird ice age and it was, once again, freezing cold. The sun was heading down and we were all the way across town from our house. We decided that if we hurried, we could make it. This would cause a change in drivers because Jeff is afraid to break the speed limit, and I've been known for having a bit of a lead foot. The whole way home, he's reminding me the speed limit and how many miles you can go over before you have to go to jail. (I've never even had a ticket...)

Any drill sargeant would have been proud of me. I proved that our kids can hurry when they want to. Once we pulled into the driveway, before I even put the car in park, I was yelling (nicely), "5 minutes. You've got 5 minutes to get ready and meet back at the car." And you know what? It worked. Jeff was the last one out. The kids were all waiting in the car! So now we are driving the opposite direction across town. On the way, Josh says, unsolicited, "Mommy, Daddy. I love you." He's said he loved us when we say it to him, but this was the first time, he has initiated that phrase. I almost ran off the road... but I was going 80 in a 55 around a corner...

We made it to the park and got our blankets laid out, everyone cuddling in their blankets listening to the symphony play songs from our favorite musical, "The Sound of Music." All 5 kids (we were sans Jordan) were singing along as this is one of our favorites. Even Josh and Jameson were singing along. Jameson leans over and says, "Mom, this is your favorite." I sat back, and all I could think was, "This is my favorite." This was my favorite kind of day. Sitting under the stars listening to the music, all I could think was this is what I had imagined life would be like. This is what I wanted when I wanted a large family. After the concert was over, the kids ran all over the park like lunatics. They were all playing and laughing together. This is why I wanted 6 kids. It is times like this that make me imagine having more. This is when I forget about all the daily crap we endure. The road rage. The dishes. The laundry. This is when the frustration and pain go away. This is my perfect day. Now all I've got to do is make this happen more often... because I feel like I'm in a dream. And I know 5 kids who fell asleep smiling, exhausted and very, very happy.