Life's Happily Ever After

Nervous laughter bubbled up in response to some comment about the need for make-up beyond her standard eyeliner and lip gloss. Hearing herself she wondered at the school-girl sound and the anxiety it betrayed. Fixing her hat in the mirror, for life is too turbulent to begin in a veil, she relented and allowed her sister to swoop goopy mascara across her lashes. She was ready.

At the tender age of 23 she placed her chilled hand into the warmth of her best friend’s touch and promised to love him through good and bad. Forgetting, if only for that moment, that such things as struggles and anger are natural.

As the happy honeymooners reflections morph into middle age with laugh lines and bits of gray she contemplates the use of mascara for a much needed date night. Recalling the naiveté she exhibited once she looks deep into her eyes and wonders at the life they have created. While the joys and fairy tale moments have indeed been wondrous, she smiles knowingly for these things would not have taken place without the disagreements overcome, the anger soothed with caring words, and the committed bond to see through the difficulties to the joys ahead.

Jostled from her momentary reflection by chubby little fingers seeking purchase enough to pull up on her pants she hears her name called from another child wanting a referee or cook or some other need met. Quickly she smears some mascara across her lashes, lifts the little bundle and sets out to settle things at home before she and her love can celebrate the anniversary of the beginning of their greatest adventure.

Happy Anniversary to my best friend, my partner in crime and everything else. Though it is a few days late, I am sure you understand – because well, life just keeps going.

Fathers Day

Here in Sunnyville flexibility is not just an attitude it is a survival mechanism. Hubby has been practicing and perfecting this skill since Teen was first handed to him in the hospital, 17+ years ago. Having begun his parenting journey with little exposure to infants and a gag reflex that went into hyper-drive over anything infant-Teen expelled, he didn't once question his role in the parenting picture. He was in. 100%.

Having this determination to be a great father to each child in our home, he has been forced to embrace flexibility. Whether he is perfecting Teen's rhetoric skills through debating the most vital character in some trilogy, taking Boy out shooting clay pigeons, discussing the latest in stuffed-animal clothing with Youngest, or caring for BabyK he adapts to the situation. 

In no area is this adaptation more overt than in the caring for BabyK. Knowing she would visit with her parents throughout her life and that we are not them, we began by calling ourselves Aunt and Uncle...this would be fine, except she being barely one is not picking it up, probably because everyone else in the house calls us and refers to us as mom and dad. So just recently, in an effort to get her to call us something, we began to refer to ourselves as Mama M-- and Dada B--. Of course she still hasn't uttered those syllables to us though she says dog and cat, it must be the fur

Well that is until this morning. As we were all minus snoozing Teen at breakfast I looked to BabyK and said "Since today is Father's Day, maybe today you could say Dada B--." She paused with her jelly covered biscuit hovering near her chubby cheeks, looked to the end of the table and clear as a bell said, "DaDa." then continued eating, oblivious to the praise poured forth from Boy and Youngest and the surprised and endearing smile from Hubby. A well-deserved title of honor and meaning, if not one of biology. 

Happy Father's Day to my husband and all the other Dada's out there!