Sand and Suds

I wrote this yesterday evening but wasn't able to post it...

It’s been so long since I’ve been able to find time to just sit and type to my heart’s content without tiredness seeping into my bones and without worry of any interruptions. I find a stillness and peace sweep over my soul as I unwind, reflect on the day and rejoice in the life God has given me. Perhaps the prospect of a “Girl’s Night Out” has a good deal to do with my mood, but regardless, I’m happy to be back at this blog if only for a brief moment.

Today was a lovely day spent with my adorable son. The day started early with the sound of my sweet boy crying out for someone to rescue him from the darkness. I hurriedly freed him from the confines of his crib and set about our morning routine with excitement. Today we were to go and visit my brother Dave. My sister-in-law Danielle had been in the hospital for just a little over a month and was finally home. I couldn’t wait to go see them and spend time with my nephew Cole. We were going to take the boys to a pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin and take pictures. My brother’s birthday is tomorrow (October 11th) and so I was making his favorite cookies to take to him when I got a call that Danielle had been experiencing a migraine for over 24 hours and needed to go into the clinic. My heart sunk as I realized I would not be able to see my loved ones and it ached for the pain and continual health problems my lovely sister-in-law had been and continues to face.
So, instead of a day at the pumpkin patch, I decided to take Elijah to the park and have fun hanging out with other kids and parents. I had so much fun watching Eli hobble around on the sand and go down a small slide on his own for the first time. When it came time to have a snack, I tried my best to wipe the sand off his little hands, but no matter how hard I tried, the sand was destined to enter his mouth along with the food. I finally surrendered to the inevitable and figured it was a rite of passage for a kid to eat sand.

After the park and his afternoon nap, we went to wash the car which hadn’t been cleaned in months. The mobile home park where we live has designated areas where you can wash your car so I thought the change of scenery would be fun for the little guy. Also, anything to do with water is a huge hit where Eli is concerned. As I was taking my rag across the dirty sides of my vehicle, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Elijah was splashing in the water of my bucket. The next thing I realize, he’s putting soapy hands into his mouth and spreading suds all over his face. I wouldn’t have minded except for the concern over possible diarrhea. He was not a happy camper when I pulled his hands out of his mouth, wiped his face and tried to rinse out his mouth. “No more bucket of soapy suds for you,” I proclaimed. Instead, I had to console him by letting him play with the hose which he was content with except for the times when I told him he couldn’t scrape the metal part of the hose onto the side of our car. Ah, the joys of a one year old ;-)