My good day
For some reason, and I think it is the beautiful weather, everything today clicked. You know when you have those days? Even events that would normally make you ticked off make you smile on days like today.
So we had our normal morning ritual. Opal woke up and nursed, then cuddled with John and I in bed for awhile. When she gets out of bed in the morning she is very excited to walk. Sometimes she is a little unsteady, as we all are when we first get out of bed in the morning. Today she was especially cute, because we have put her back into pajamas with feet. John left for work, sent away with a sufficient amount of kisses from Opal and I, and we proceeded to have breakfast. Now for those of you who don't know, we have had the run-around with Opal and food. In the past, she has not had a big appetite. However, much has improved. Today she wanted to eat and eat and eat. She sat in her high chair for so long during each meal today that it was me asking if she was all done because I wanted to get up from the table.
After breakfast, we cleaned up and played for a while. Opal has always taken a morning nap, but she is cutting it out right now. So I tried to put her to sleep and she just played in her bed for awhile. When she was done, she signifies by yelling. Not crying. Just yelling. Which is especially funny. It's like she wants to say, "Mom, come get me now!"
The rest of the morning was spent with errands. We went to 2 grocery stores, dropped off a video, and picked up a print cartridge. Opal was awesome. She was smiley and flirty with check-out women. She rode "Henry the Hy-Vee Horse" who is purple. She swayed back and forth to music at the grocery store and laughed at me making funny faces. We had a great time.
We came home, ate lunch, went outside to play, and then Opal took a nap. I let Opal help make dinner today. She stood on a chair at the counter and brushed potatoes with olive oil. She liked dipping the brush in the bowl of oil, and once she put the entire brush into her mouth. Her reaction was a devious kind of smile. Then she put green beans into a pot of water. I would cut a few, hand them to her, and she would put them in. If I was slow, her hand would be waiting there, reaching out for the beans.
I realized that people don't have enough fun in life. When I have Opal with me on errands, I have to have fun, because then she does. If I'm stressed and trying to be quick and not paying attention enough to talk to her or give her flirty eyes, she is not happy. Consequently, I have an un-fun time. Today we both had a great time doing mundane errands and cooking dinner. An elderly woman said it best to me the other day when I was coming out of a store, "You've got your best friend with you today, don't you?"
No, I can't share my woes, secrets, or goals with Opal and expect her to respond, but I do share my life with her. On a daily basis, she is the one in which I share most of my time. She recognizes my feelings. She watches my eyes and face constantly. It's like she watches my soul. She looks at me with such admiration and love in anticipation for what I will do next. What an honor. What a responsibility.
Today, I feel like I did a good job. I gave her mindful attention. Opal responded with a cheery disposition. It is so important and so difficult sometimes to act mindfully, yet so evident when we do.
Today, Opal and I clicked.
So we had our normal morning ritual. Opal woke up and nursed, then cuddled with John and I in bed for awhile. When she gets out of bed in the morning she is very excited to walk. Sometimes she is a little unsteady, as we all are when we first get out of bed in the morning. Today she was especially cute, because we have put her back into pajamas with feet. John left for work, sent away with a sufficient amount of kisses from Opal and I, and we proceeded to have breakfast. Now for those of you who don't know, we have had the run-around with Opal and food. In the past, she has not had a big appetite. However, much has improved. Today she wanted to eat and eat and eat. She sat in her high chair for so long during each meal today that it was me asking if she was all done because I wanted to get up from the table.
After breakfast, we cleaned up and played for a while. Opal has always taken a morning nap, but she is cutting it out right now. So I tried to put her to sleep and she just played in her bed for awhile. When she was done, she signifies by yelling. Not crying. Just yelling. Which is especially funny. It's like she wants to say, "Mom, come get me now!"
The rest of the morning was spent with errands. We went to 2 grocery stores, dropped off a video, and picked up a print cartridge. Opal was awesome. She was smiley and flirty with check-out women. She rode "Henry the Hy-Vee Horse" who is purple. She swayed back and forth to music at the grocery store and laughed at me making funny faces. We had a great time.
We came home, ate lunch, went outside to play, and then Opal took a nap. I let Opal help make dinner today. She stood on a chair at the counter and brushed potatoes with olive oil. She liked dipping the brush in the bowl of oil, and once she put the entire brush into her mouth. Her reaction was a devious kind of smile. Then she put green beans into a pot of water. I would cut a few, hand them to her, and she would put them in. If I was slow, her hand would be waiting there, reaching out for the beans.
I realized that people don't have enough fun in life. When I have Opal with me on errands, I have to have fun, because then she does. If I'm stressed and trying to be quick and not paying attention enough to talk to her or give her flirty eyes, she is not happy. Consequently, I have an un-fun time. Today we both had a great time doing mundane errands and cooking dinner. An elderly woman said it best to me the other day when I was coming out of a store, "You've got your best friend with you today, don't you?"
No, I can't share my woes, secrets, or goals with Opal and expect her to respond, but I do share my life with her. On a daily basis, she is the one in which I share most of my time. She recognizes my feelings. She watches my eyes and face constantly. It's like she watches my soul. She looks at me with such admiration and love in anticipation for what I will do next. What an honor. What a responsibility.
Today, I feel like I did a good job. I gave her mindful attention. Opal responded with a cheery disposition. It is so important and so difficult sometimes to act mindfully, yet so evident when we do.
Today, Opal and I clicked.
posted by John, Nicole, Opal, and Iris at
8:24 PM
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