good day.

i should just write "the end" because this day has literally been the opposite of the one in my inaugural post.  my oldest has begun his second school year...well i guess its technically his third since he did attend kindergarten.  anyway, we got him off to school (ten minutes late thanks to a discovery of an ant infestation in the pantry.  ants in the sugar anyone? as well as neither of us just plain not wanting to get up and get going at 6:30 in the am) and the girls and i got ready for the day (yes, i showered before 10 am!!  can i get an amen??) i had a few returns to make and some school lunch shopping to do, albeit two days into the school year...oops. any excuse to go to target.  right ladies?  side note--does anyone else love to buy stuff and then return it?  am i alone in feeling empowered by the customer service people handing me cold hard cash that i can pretend hasn't already been spent?  just me?  huh...

we drove to the mall, the one that's far away.  we sang songs in the car, we chatted about kindergarten, we ate suckers...it was, dare i say, fun? we got to the mall.  i returned a skirt and scored 20 bucks!!  then, we got back in the car and drove across the street to target...another side note--when i was deep in the throes of post-partum depression after my first and well, lets be honest, my second as well, just the thought of getting in AND out of the car not once, but twice was enough to overwhelm me and force me to pull the covers over my head and pretend that i didn't need groceries.  restaurant food tasted a whole lot better anyway, right?  yeah, i may just now be starting to actually become the "homemaker" that i've put on school/medical forms for the past 7 years...

we went to target.  we got popcorn and drinks...yeah, i can't resist.  i returned some curtains and made another 40 dollars! we walked around the store. we looked at the toys.  it was pleasant.  it was enjoyable!  maybe it was the fact that i had one less kid.  i''m going to choose to believe that my kids were just super obedient and well-mannered (can you hear the sarcasm?)  we exited the store with a cart full of "necessities" and a palpable lack of stress.  we again got back in the store and headed for home and nap time.  i realized i forgot to buy sunglasses.  turns out they are pretty necessary in the desert.  ugh...did i want to go back to the store?  yes!  i did!  i couldn't believe it.  i turned back into the mall parking lot, got the stroller out of the back, and sauntered (yes, sauntered...not sprinted so as to get in and out as quickly as possible) into yet another store.  i grabbed a 9 dollar pair of shades which were basically free because i returned all that stuff...and headed back to the car AGAIN!  I'm seriously winning at this point, you have no idea. the girls proceeded to fall asleep in the car and we returned home in time for lunch and a movie.  there you go, i'm not all perfect. i know you were beginning to think i was, but the television has been on a few times today ;)

i know that you're probably all thinking, what is the big deal??  she ran errands.  woopideedoo...don't worry, i'm getting to the point.

it wasn't just the successful errand running.  it was the fact that at several (perfectly uneventful/unexciting) moments during the day, i stopped to recognize the fact that i was truly, honesty enjoying myself.  i was having a "good day" and it didn't involve being away from my kids or getting pampered or being served dinner that i didn't have to make.  don't get me wrong, the girls weren't total angels.  stella screamed upon every entrance into a shopping cart and sofi begged for every barbie/my little pony carrying case in existence, but today i didn't mind.  today i happily shoved my two year old into her seat and said "not this time" a hundred times.  today i feel like there was a heathy mix of mercy from heaven and my own choice to decide to be happy through the monotony that becomes being a stay at home mom. today was a good day. heck, it was a great day and i'm so thankful i got to experience.  i know it sounds like a cat poster (thank you lego movie) but i'm grateful for the little things that can become great if we choose to let them.