Today I woke up early to go running. I’ve definitely had some winter blues, and running was so wonderful for my health and state of mind.
When I came home, I relaxed with Lily a bit, and then we both got up to find that the girls had made a “tea party” breakfast consisting mainly of banana with Nutella. It was so sweet, they had set up all of their stuffed animals all around the table. Clarissa sat on my lap, ate all the Nutella from my banana and smeared Nutella on my new sweater, but I loved every second of it (even eating the mushy banana remains she left me). At the table, Lily and I took the opportunity to teach about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I shared my thoughts about how amazing his example was for non-violent influence, and for preaching unity between African American and white people. I then read the Wikipedia article on Martin Luther King Jr., and we listened to the “I Have a Dream” speech (which blew my mind) and then Lily shared additional thoughts about the complexity and history of relations between African Americans and white people in America. I.LOVE.FAMILY.CHATS.
Then Lily and I made contact with my old real estate agent in Chicago to help us sell our condo.
Then Lily read and rested a lot, which is great because she is fighting sinus infection, I spent time looking into a 5K run in Moab, working on the finances, making a plan for getting our condo fixed, and playing some basketball. I also took my share of rest 🙂
The rest of the day was so fun and cozy. Ammon wanted soooo much attention and to a large degree, I gave it to him, and it felt so so good. I threw him on the couch, worked on a puzzle with him, walked around with him on my shoulders, and more. While playing with him, I remembered all the time when he was a baby, and I was so tired and rested on the floor instead of playing with him. I sincerely hope, my life will open up just a little, and that I can spend more dedicated time with him. Between being a pod-lead, team lead 1, and team lead 2, I have been a player coach for most if not all of Ammon’s life.
At 5:00 Mary had her eye exercises appointment and then we had a special daddy daughter dinner date at Chubby’s as a reward for her doing 10/12 days of her eye exercise training. We tried to talk Mary into another night so we could have a family dinner tonight commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, but she really cared that I follow through on the day I said I would, so we made it happen.
In honesty, I’ve been struggling a lot emotionally, and I was sad that I was feeling particularly blue on my date with Mary. But God handed us a little miracle. Mary fell asleep on the way to Chubby’s, and while she rested, I called Lily to vent all of my sorrows (mostly revolving around the powerful doubts in my mind about the afterlife, the existence of God and if life has meaning). In times like that, Lily is the only thing that can give me a spark of light, and life, and love, and venting to her was what I needed to keep going. I slapped a grin on my face, woke Mary up and had a wonderful time with her.
She was very shy, and didn’t talk much. I asked her lots of questions, including the question, “am I asking too many questions?” She said that I was, so I backed off. With Mary, she likes things to be really easy and low key. Long silences can pass, and she’s happy with that. She just likes to be in each other’s presence. Honestly, it’s so sweet and low-pressure, and easy. I love it to.
Lily was working hard at that homefront while I had this sweet experience with Mary. Thank you Lily!
