Yes to Dixie...

The second half of our first road trip of summer found us at the "cactus house".  Have I ever mentioned how easily I could become a desert rat?  I'm serious, I would live in Dixie in a red hot minute.  

And I'd drag these little pool buddies along with me and every night their chocolate hides would rest against cool sheets and they'd crash in milliseconds.  You know why?  

Two words...

Swimming.Pool.

I don't think I can even begin to calculate the hours they can log in a pool of water in a few short days.  I can tell you we breezed our way through three cans of aerosol sunscreen and one facial stick.

It's impressive -- trust me.

I think another reason they love to go hang at the cactus house is that I turn into a complete "Yes Man Woman".  You know, that little word just spills out of my mouth effortlessly with a smile.  No analyzing what is on my "to do list" that day, no hesitation because we have to be somewhere at a certain time.  Just primo, sun-filled days of water and "yes".

Have you noticed how one yes leads to another?  Yes to Pop Its.  Yes to Katy Perry turned up to an annoying volume for car dancing.  Yes to a second popsicle, or third, or fourth.  Yes to another trip to the pool dragging along those giant inner tubes with us.  Yes to all of it at once and admittedly just as much for me as it is for them.

 

These days mean fun.  Carefree.  I love how happy these yeses make them.  Especially because in motherhood there have to be a lot of "Not Today's" and "Nos".  It feels good to say yes to just about everything - especially considering at this age it simply means Pop Its and Popsicles, not Dragon Tattoos or Motorcycle stunts.

 

I'm confident these days don't permanently damage my chilluns'.  They're just fun and random and everybody knows it.  And if they fill in some of the gaps of my parenting flaws... all the better.   I know, and they know, that in a few days we'll be back to our "to-dos" and our schedules and there will be fewer yeses, but not an ounce less love.

 So, in the meantime, we swim.

And jump.

And splash.

And float.

And do "lollipops" which are actually belly flops but he misheard me & why would I ever correct that?

 

Shower us with sunshine again soon, won't you, Dixie?

XOXO my little water babies.