One Perfect Night

Last night was a perfect night. I wasn’t in Paris or on a beach somewhere gazing at the sunset while holding hands with my husband. I was at home. Just home.

I struggle to explain it; it’s nearly impossible to put into words. It was like a beautiful, simple song…an evening of what were ordinary “notes”, but when strung together made an unforgettable melody. A song so perfect that it still resonates in my heart today, like one of those tunes that you just can’t get out of your head – only this time I don’t want it to leave. Perhaps that’s why I’m working so hard to capture it with words….

My afternoon started when I got off work and picked up my daughter from school. Her smiling face and bouncing steps as she approached the car said it all. She had a great day! My suspicions were confirmed when she hopped into the car and smiled at me. It’s been said she and I share the same smile. I can only hope that my smile brings a fraction of the happiness to others that hers brings to my heart when it makes its appearance (which is quite often). As we exited the carpool line, she informs me that she had a great day, one that was better than usual, and she wasn’t sure exactly why. I told her it was just a gift and let’s not question it, but be thankful for it. She agreed, as she proceeded to tell me all about her loose tooth that seems to be very happy right where it is.

I then continued my usual Monday routine – prep dinner (while drinking a very necessary cup of coffee), pick up the toddler, drive cheer carpool, pick up teenager from a friend’s house and then back home again.  

Teenager and toddler joined me for my workout walk around the lake, and for a 15-year-old boy, my oldest was very chatty. At the start of our talk, nearly everything he said I took the opportunity to interject my motherly “wisdom”, then I felt like God was telling me to be quiet! So I did.

I walked. He talked. And talked. And talked.  He stopped at the playground with the toddler so they could do boy things while I finished my final lap. When I returned, there they were playing and chatting with new friends they made on the playground. Nothing extraordinary. Nothing earth-shattering, but beautiful.

So we were off toward home, and when we got there, my hard-working husband had recently arrived and my neighbor was dropping off my daughter from cheer. As we all converged into the house and made final preparations for dinner, all were busy doing “stuff” but the chatter continued.

Then there was a rare moment where my teenager and I were again alone, but this time in the kitchen. He starts the conversation by telling me how he can’t believe that some parents just don’t care about their kids. I asked him what he meant and that’s all he needed. He proceeded to tell stories about kids who have gotten caught making wrong choices and there were no consequences at home, followed by, “If I ever did anything like that, I wouldn’t have one thing left….these kids are still on their phones, on facebook and hanging out with their friends.” Then he told me about other kids whose parents not only look the other way, but condone, behaviors we have deemed unacceptable. “What are they (parents) thinking?” he asked me.

This time I was silent and simply shook my head, not because I was at a loss for words on the topic, but because I was left speechless that in his own way he was telling me something stuck. He really has been listening – and watching – all these years. And I was filled with thankfulness and awe.

Dinner came and went, and it was time for the “B” team (my hubby and daughter) to clean the kitchen. They chatted and cleaned and then we all left for a quick family walk where some hand-holding and a kiss or two took place. We walked, we talked, we fed ducks (who were more interested in sleeping than eating) and returned home to bathe a very dirty toddler and start our bedtime routine, which includes snuggles with the youngest two. As my daughter and I went through our usual “best” and “worst” happenings of the day, neither of us could come up with any “worsts”….only “bests”. What a perfect ending to a wonderfully ordinary night.

You see, it wasn’t a star-studded night to perhaps anyone but me. It was a rare evening where I felt so very connected to each member of my little “clan” all in the same night. As I lay awake in bed while everyone slept it was so hard to close my eyes. I didn’t want the day to end. There will be more beautiful evenings, but last night’s melody touched this mama’s heart so tenderly that I never want to forget.