There is nothing more important to me than family. We are soo lucky to be surrounded by extended family here, and the perks are truly endless. This past Saturday the amazing Aunt Amy gave us her free tickets to see Sesame Street Live. When Andy first told me about the adventure, I asked, "Oo, so your Aunt Amy wants to take the girls?" No such luck, but free is free either way.
Here we are before the show.
Mayzie giving me her best CHEESE.
Annika trying to look cheesy & scary, and succeeding at both.
The show was really fun, and I loved the questions Annika kept posing me. She would lean over and ask, "Mama, are they real?" I replied, "Well, what do you think?" Annika said, "Yeah, I think they're real. What do you think?" I deferred, "I think you're right." Someday I will instill a skeptic in that girl, but now is not the time to do so about fluffy characters. Let's wait at least a couple of years until after we take them to Disney World the first time.
The show introduced a new friend from India, and Annika became fascinated. I could see the wheels turning when she turned to me and asked, "Mama, can we go to India?" Yes my dear, yes we can. It is on the list of places I'd like to see before I leave this planet, and we will make that happen. I adore the little adventurer that she already is and how large her world is. I love that she dreams BIG and wants to travel. I love that her perspective is already going toward the global, and like to think that I have something to do with that. Perhaps all my silly anthropological quips about customs in other cultures are actually starting to sink into her evermore connecting brain. Time will tell.
We ate an early dinner, so we had time to take the girls outside to run around and get some fresh air before the mosquitoes descended. The girls scared a Mama Duck and her 3 ducklings into hiding in the brush and loved every second of their waddling.
Here is Annika giving her best DUH face and pointing at the ducks. Can you see them?
The evening light was drizzling through the clouds as the sun sank ever lower, and I tried to catch the moment as much as possible with my phone.
The girls found a flock of Canadian geese to chase into the pond.
It was a beautiful day filled with family love. Taking these days off could make me feel guilty for not working on my dissertation or multiple proposals that I have going at the moment. But I don't let myself feel guilty. I know that I will never regret spending too much time with my kids as they grow so quickly. These fleeting moments make me appreciate the time I do get to spend with them, and make me so much more productive when I'm away pounding on my laptop like I do. I love family days.
P.S. For the best explanation of why time seems to go faster as we get older, check out this PhD Comic from a few weeks ago.
