Always daydreaming
I stood at the kitchen counter, chopping vegetables. A rainbow of colors was spread out around me - green bell peppers, red tomatoes, orange carrots, green celery, and white jicama - and I couldn't help but nosh on a carrot stick as I prepared dinner.
"Mommy, look!" I felt a hand on my leg, and looked down into the big, beautiful eyes of my six year old daughter, Talia. She was extending a picture she had drawn, pushing it up as high as she could so that I would take it. Putting the knife down, I knelt beside her to examine the crayon drawing.
"Its awesome, sweetie!" I grinned at the two-dimensional airplane that she had drawn herself riding on through a carefully scribbled, blue sky. She smiled back, and then returned to where she and her brother, Ryan, had been coloring, sitting somewhat inconveniently in the middle of the kitchen floor behind me.
I gazed down at my babies for a minute, delighting in the smoothness of their skin, the clarity of their voices, and the dexterity of their tiny fingers. I turned and went back to dinner prep when, no less than two minutes later, a struggle erupted on the tiles behind me. Talia's voice rose in annoyance as she tried to grab the purple crayon from Ryan, who protested. Over my shoulder, I began to say, "Hey, kids - ", when I heard a car door slam outside. I changed my message:
"Talia, Ryan, I think Daddy's home."
A few seconds later, Dad opened the door. Talia ran to him, shouting happily about what she had done in kindergarten today, and Ryan waddled behind. Dad tossed his gym bag onto the couch (a habit I disliked), and reached for the kids. As he enveloped the babies into his big arms, Talia pushed against him: "Ew," she protested. "You're sweaty!!" This prompted Dad to give chase to Talia, who attempted to out-run her post-workout father, and Ryan - shrieking with delight at the sudden activity - followed the two of them around the living and dining rooms.
After a minute of "trying" to catch his children, Dad said, "Time-out, I haven't said hi to Mom yet." He ducked into the kitchen, and picked me up in a full body hug. Never mind that my hands were wet and that I smelled of grass from playing outside earlier, he still buried his head in my neck and sighed.
"Hey, hon", I murmured as I rubbed the back of his neck. His body was still flushed from the gym, and I could feel the heat radiating off of him. We lost ourselves in a kiss, and it wasn't until Talia and Ryan protested for attention, too, that we ended the lip-lock.
Without putting me down, Dad carefully sat down on the kitchen floor, to which Talia and Ryan promptly reacted with glee. Clambering over the two of us, Talia squeezed herself between the two of us until Dad had both of his girls in his lap. Reaching out, Dad swiped Ryan off of his feet and pulled him into the huddle.
Dinner forgotten for the moment, we enjoyed one another's company for a few minutes until the phone rang and I had to untangle myself to answer it.
"Mommy, look!" I felt a hand on my leg, and looked down into the big, beautiful eyes of my six year old daughter, Talia. She was extending a picture she had drawn, pushing it up as high as she could so that I would take it. Putting the knife down, I knelt beside her to examine the crayon drawing.
"Its awesome, sweetie!" I grinned at the two-dimensional airplane that she had drawn herself riding on through a carefully scribbled, blue sky. She smiled back, and then returned to where she and her brother, Ryan, had been coloring, sitting somewhat inconveniently in the middle of the kitchen floor behind me.
I gazed down at my babies for a minute, delighting in the smoothness of their skin, the clarity of their voices, and the dexterity of their tiny fingers. I turned and went back to dinner prep when, no less than two minutes later, a struggle erupted on the tiles behind me. Talia's voice rose in annoyance as she tried to grab the purple crayon from Ryan, who protested. Over my shoulder, I began to say, "Hey, kids - ", when I heard a car door slam outside. I changed my message:
"Talia, Ryan, I think Daddy's home."
A few seconds later, Dad opened the door. Talia ran to him, shouting happily about what she had done in kindergarten today, and Ryan waddled behind. Dad tossed his gym bag onto the couch (a habit I disliked), and reached for the kids. As he enveloped the babies into his big arms, Talia pushed against him: "Ew," she protested. "You're sweaty!!" This prompted Dad to give chase to Talia, who attempted to out-run her post-workout father, and Ryan - shrieking with delight at the sudden activity - followed the two of them around the living and dining rooms.
After a minute of "trying" to catch his children, Dad said, "Time-out, I haven't said hi to Mom yet." He ducked into the kitchen, and picked me up in a full body hug. Never mind that my hands were wet and that I smelled of grass from playing outside earlier, he still buried his head in my neck and sighed.
"Hey, hon", I murmured as I rubbed the back of his neck. His body was still flushed from the gym, and I could feel the heat radiating off of him. We lost ourselves in a kiss, and it wasn't until Talia and Ryan protested for attention, too, that we ended the lip-lock.
Without putting me down, Dad carefully sat down on the kitchen floor, to which Talia and Ryan promptly reacted with glee. Clambering over the two of us, Talia squeezed herself between the two of us until Dad had both of his girls in his lap. Reaching out, Dad swiped Ryan off of his feet and pulled him into the huddle.
Dinner forgotten for the moment, we enjoyed one another's company for a few minutes until the phone rang and I had to untangle myself to answer it.