In Which We Take Advantage Of The Weather

Yesterday was yet another one of those glorious fall days, and Jeremy and I just couldn't stay inside.  So we drove down to Bradley Park, where Jeremy and Connor played on the accessible playground and I zoomed along the paved bike trail on my skates.  It's been a while since Connor has been on an outdoor swing, and he was absolutely delirious with joy over it.  Jer had to slow the swing down every once in a while because the little guy was laughing so hard he'd make himself go into a coughing fit!  It was great to see him having such a wonderful time; that's the first family outing we've been able to take for a while.

It makes me really happy to visit our local park because there are so many different people there enjoying the space.  There were groups of dreadlocked skateboarding teenagers dressed in black, a troop of boy scouts playing baseball, children like Connor mingling with neurotypical kids on the playground.  Elderly couples were out holding hands and walking their dogs.  Toddlers wobbled down the bike trail on their tricycles.  A group of LARPers (Live Action Roleplayers) had set up an impromptu archery range and were dressed up in medieval outfits, slinging cloth-tipped arrows covered in chalk at a target manned by an enthusiastic eight year old.  Nearby a couple of teenage boys dressed in preppy clothes picked out pop songs on their guitars.  Nobody seemed particularly out of place.

This is what a park is supposed to be like, I think.  I love this town.

The happy mood from yesterday carried over to today, which also dawned sunny and gorgeous.  This morning I listened to Jeremy puttering around in the kitchen singing to Connor while he made his coffee-- something he often does when he's in a good mood. 

We're a really musical household; pretty much anything that can be sung will be sung when we're in the comfort of our own home, and most of what we are singing is relatively ridiculous.  My songs are usually about what we are doing at that particular moment (a song about chopping potatoes to the tune of "Home On The Range").  Jeremy's songs usually involve a whole lot of killing people.  Also explosions.  I believe this morning's selection involved something about me becoming a zombie and hunting for brains to the tune of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck." 

No doubt this is imparting some sort of important life lesson to Connor, such as what to do in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse.  And also that there's not a whole lot of words that rhyme with "zombie," but "mommy" comes pretty close.

It's great to see my family so happy!

I know that we're coming on to winter here, and pretty soon the days will be rainy and dark again.  Maybe that's what makes these days so precious; we know that they're few in number and so we're determined to make the most of them.  And it's nice to set aside thinking about how dreary things will be in a few weeks and just enjoy the time we have now; we'll save up these sunny moments so that we have something to look forward to at the end of the long dark winter.

That's not a bad philosophy for life, I think.

~Jess