So, you know how summer mornings turn to fall mornings and we reach for a jacket that we haven't worn in a year and we dust off the shoulders and check for moth holes and slip it on and reach into a pocket ... and WAIT A MINUTE ... what's this?? It might be an old tissue, or gloves, or that missing Lego creation, or a tube of Chapstick, but SOMETIMES, if you're lucky, it's C-A-S-H! Maybe a couple of ones and a receipt folded together from that time you took the kids for ice cream, but had to catch drips and drops before you had a chance to put your money in your billfold?
Or, maybe a five wrapped around a movie stub?
And, sometimes, if you're reallllly lucky, it'll be big money -- like a twenty. From the time you and your husband stopped for cash on the way out on a rare date and he took the bulk of the cash from the machine, but gave you 20 even tho' you saaaay you don't need cash because you just use your debit card, but "you really should carry a little cash. It's not safe not to." And then you say you'll only spend it on shoes ...
Well, that luck. That $20 bill in the coat pocket kinda luck is the sort of day I had today.
Nothing too crazy or out of the ordinary, but just the kind of day that makes you glad it's a Wednesday and that the headache you woke up with didn't last past coffee.
I was lucky that even tho' I hit snooze a couple too many times this morning, I had two agreeable little boys who followed my instructions to "eat your breakfast," "get dressed," and "do your bathroom stuff" even over the drone of Spongebob.
I was lucky we made it out the door in record time and didn't even need jackets. Well, The Big One (the 8-yr-old) didn't, but I did and so did The Short One (the 4-yr-old.)
I was lucky The Short One didn't ask me to carry him thru the halls of the school, which he always does. But, when he starts kindergarten next year, he WON'T ask and then I won't feel lucky ...
I was lucky that even tho' Wednesday is traditionally the busiest day of the week for traffic on the freeway, that we got to drive Lightening McQueen-like all the way to nature school. I was lucky that The Short One and I could sit and visit for a few quiet minutes and debate the pros and cons of making a fireman's air tank out of plastic or wood for his dress-up box.
I'm lucky that they don't DO a Valentine exchange at nature school "because of the stress it creates for the children." I didn't say I AGREE, just that I'm lucky I don't have to coax the letters of The Short One's name out of him many more times.
I don't believe I stopped for a single red traffic light today. Not one. And this includes lots of downtown errand running and carpool driving.
I'm lucky that I rode a hard 25 miles on my bike today w/ the WIND IN MY FACE and, having not been on my bike since November, felt GOOD, in addition to lucky.
I'm lucky that The Short One fell asleep on the way home from school and stayed asleep on the couch so that I could sleep. When the boys were babies I had no guilt sleeping when they slept. I felt no need to scrub toilets or put a casserole in the oven.
"Sleep when the baby sleeps?" YOU GOT IT!!
Today, I slept.
I'm lucky The Big One came home in such a sweet mood and that The Short One woke up happy.
Last nite, The Big One tried on his handsome blue sportcoat that his bigger brother wore when his dad and I married. The Big One will wear it to a wedding this month, to church on Easter and when he receives his first communion in May. He slipped his hand in the pocket.
He pulled out a years old pack of Juicy Fruit. It had ONE STICK of gum left in it.
Now THAT'S lucky.
