Tonight I experienced one of those Mom moments that for me are too few and far between.I belly laughed with my daughters.
I'm a fun girl, but shamefully, my kids see the least amount of my happiness. I'm working on surrendering my agenda and preferences so that I can cheerfully invest in their lives ... not just manage them. But I have much to surrender, so it's a slow process.
Anyway, we were swimming this evening. Just the girls and me. In the rain. "Please go under! You don't have eye make-up on, so PLEASE go under!" They begged. I smiled at the beautiful, cheering crowd that surrounded me in the shallow end.
I buckled my knees and plunged beneath the surface. I bounced back to my feet to greet fresh air, rain drops, and applause. "Do it again!" They cheered.
"Wanna see my handstand?" I teased.
"YES!!!" they screamed and announced my offer to one another as if the other sisters hadn't heard me speaking to the group. "Mom said she'll do a handstand. Watch! Watch! She's gonna do it!"
I did my best post-forty handstand with legs protruding as straight as possible for as long as possible. The crowd went wild.
"Oh wow! Mom did an awesome handstand!"
I was high on verbal affirmation and drunk with pride, so I offered to do it again, and promised it would be even better. I raised up on my tip toes and entered the water ... really sloppily. I tried to redeem the stunt by sticking another handstand, but I was all messed up.
With my eyes closed, I imagined how my splashing and floundering might appear from above, and I became very amused. I burst out of the water hair first, laughing uncontrollably. The girls shrieked with delight. I floated backwards to smooth my hair, and continued to laugh. The older girls did their best instant replay reenactments and we all laughed out loud. Once we had calmed down, we went on to challenge each other in "trick" handstands ... very similar to H.O.R.S.E. at the basketball goal ...matching and attempting to out-do the previous stunt. Very entertaining!
But that bright moment earlier in the cloudy evening was the highlight of the evening. Five silly girls, young and old, hollering and giggling with one another as summer raindrops lightly punctured the waves of a cool blue pool. Splashes of laughter, ripples of happiness; showers of grace.
Dear God, help me laugh more with my kids. Help me take myself less seriously so that I am not so prone to the cranks. Thank you for my daughters. They are lovely in every way. Help us grow to love each other more deeply and honestly. Thank You for the giggles. Thank You for the rain.
