In general, I’m glad I’m not a millionaire. While it would be nice to just not have money worries (and perhaps dress a bit nicer), I think I would find it incredibly boring. While everyone is at work, what would you do? That being said, yesterday made me glad that I come from a family of entrepreneurs who dictate their own work schedules and thus realize the importance of a good swim.
Earlier in the week I had called my cousin RAB to see when she was putting in that pond. What pond? Oh, the one I would like her to install for my own recreational pleasure. She’s got the perfect setup and she’s the cousin who lives nearest in proximity to me. Win and win. She wasn’t really quick to agree, something about bugs.
So, in hearing it would be a sweltering 90+ degree day on Friday, I called up the folks and invited myself out to Don & Jeanne’s pond (these were my second parents growing up that lived just across the corn field). They happened to be on vacation and don’t really mind our indulgences. So post-nap time we packed up the beach bags and headed south.
In typical Wingfield fashion, where 2 or 3 are gathered, more must be invited to make it An Event. So a few others came along and before you knew it, Don and Jeanne were having a party and didn’t know it. We sent them a text photo as to inform them of the fun we were having. Tom offered to leave the empties as proof of a good time.
We swam and floated, Will went down the slide, Henry went under (I’m not sure of his intentions of doing so?), Molly took a nap, Erica and I gossiped, the boys cooled off with a ML and no one got sunburned. We followed up such festivities with burgers on the grill, corn on the cob and fresh peaches. After arriving home waaayyyy past bedtimes, the kids were so exaustedly happy that they slept in until nearly 8am. Which made a happy mommy. Daddy took off early for a round of golf with buddies, which made him pretty chipper as well.
Subtract the skunk attack on our dog and I may have described a perfect day.
We’re blessed on so many levels. We have a wonderful family and generous friends with whom we can enjoy days like yesterday. And that my kids are growing up watching that? I think it speaks more loudly than all my mothering failures. No afternoon nap? At least the little guy knows that “fun” isn’t a video game or a tv show, but a group of people enjoying one another and God’s creation.
File this memory away under “reasons I love my life.”