A Good Day

I am never a fan of Daylight Savings.  I am a big believer in keeping kids on a routine, so when the clock shifts an hour in either direction there’s always the potential for overtired kids.  Evie and Mack wake up every morning around 7:15, so I expected them to wake up at 8:15 this morning.  Not Mack.  He toddled into our room at 7:00 asking for pancakes.  That’s 6 am in the “old” time!

Once I rubbed the sleep from my eyes I realized that his early wake up call was actually a blessing; he’d keep on the same schedule!  So, he and I put our shoes on and headed outside for an early morning walk.  After picking up orange juice and bacon from our neighborhood market, we stopped to feed the ducks along the Chicago River. Mack was so happy to welcome the sun and play with the birds, and one familiar passerby said Mack’s enthusiasm was the cutest thing he’d seen in a while!  I felt so lucky to have this time with little Mack while the rest of our city was so still and sleepy.

After breakfast of eggs, bacon, tomatoes, toast and fruit, Chris took the kids to the park. I took care of some work before the three of them returned just before Chris had to head to work and Mack had to head to bed for a nap. I was then faced with a dilemma: with temperatures close to 70 today (!!) the outdoors beckoned.  Should I put Mack down for a (much-needed) nap, or head outdoors with the kids?  Beautiful days like this in early March are a true gift, and I didn’t want to while away the afternoon indoors waiting for Mack to wake-up.

So, I packed the kids in the stroller, stuffed a blanket around Mack, kissed the top of his head and asked him nicely to close his eyes.  He snoozed for more than an hour while Evie and I enjoyed the many sights in our city.  Friendly dogs running free, kids on skateboards, moms strolling with their babies, diners enjoying a leisurely lunch alfresco.  The whole city woke up to enjoy a perfect spring day!

We wandered north for three miles before ending up in my grandparents’ neighborhood.  Fortunately for us, my grandma was home and happy to see us!  We stopped by for tea and cookies, much to Evie’s delight.  She loves my grandma, whom she calls “Mana”, and we all were quite happy to have a break from the long walk.  Now that I’m 37 weeks pregnant, I needed to sit down for a few minutes!!

By the time we were ready to leave Mana’s house, Chris was finishing up work.  The kids loaded themselves back in the stroller and we were off again, this time headed towards Chris’ office so he could join us for the walk home.  It was so much fun to meet up with him – Evie and Mack got so excited when they saw him approaching us on the sidewalk.

Chris suggested we celebrate the warm weather with a bar-b-que themed dinner, so we picked up the fixings for a meal of BBQ chicken, corn bread, green beans, sweet potatoes and homemade brownies.  The perfect way to end a perfect day.

Evie and Mack are in bed now – right on schedule.  The windows are open as I write this post.  I hear neighbors passing by, a distant ambulance siren, a light breeze fluttering through the window blinds.  After an exceptionally mild winter, part of me feels like we didn’t deserve a beautiful day like today…but then I remember that every day is a blessing, and I’m beyond grateful we took full advantage of today.

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