Picnic Weather

What a beautiful day it was today!!! Spring is showing it's face isn't it? Yea! I am not so much a fan of winter, although I do love sweaters and white chocolate mochas, but that's besides the point. The winter prevents me from doing too many things I enjoy, like going for a walk in the morning and taking Braelyn to the park. I would brave the cold weather to get a good walk in each day, but it seems mean to make Braelyn shiver for two, windy miles in her stroller. So, exercise has been a rare event in my life for the last few months. And as for the park, Braelyn would gladly endure the chilly temperatures, but selfishly, I would not, so our trips to the park have also been few and far between. Thankfully, I think we are turning a seasonal corner, and we can once again return to these delightful activities...and perhaps watch a few less episodes of Blue's Clues...if I'm just being honest.

Today, Wednesday, is our library story time. Braelyn and I enjoy it very much. Mrs. Lulu is great with her fun songs and stories, but I think what Braelyn and I both look forward to the most are few minutes of freedom that we each experience after it's over. She can roam around and play with kiddos, while I get to chat it up with other moms. I know that I am not alone in this, because after Mrs. Lulu is done, all the kids run off to play Spiderman or Legos or puppets, and almost all of us moms stay right where we are, except maybe to move in closer to the anticipated grown-up conversation.

With the weather being so gorgeous, a few of us decided to pack our lunches and head to the park after story time. I knew one of the moms fairly well, but the other two I hadn't really had opportunity to talk with before today. No matter, I had a great time. It was then that it dawned on me that among the many blessings of motherhood, is the practically effortless ability to make friends. I wheeled Braelyn up to the pb&j covered picnic table, unloaded our own brown bag lunch and felt right at home among these strangers. Without hesitation I joined the conversation, and without a second thought they welcomed me in. I love the unspoken understanding that we need each other, we need the conversation, we need each other's help. I love that no one's there to impress anybody else. I love that we can laugh that we're each kinda of a mess in our own way. We all have food stains on our clothes, our kids all have snotty noses, we all at some point in the afternoon have to yell our kid's first and middle name, and however much we're enjoying each other's company, we're only half paying attention because we still have to keep an eye on our babies. At the end of our picnic, it was quickly agreed upon that weather pending, this would be a standing event. I couldn't be happier!

I have much to be thankful for today... Spring, exercise, new friends and old, and of course, for my Braelyn Nicole!