It started out a little sketchy. The baby had been up every two hours all night long, big brother didn't want anything for breakfast, by the time I got to my little mug of coffee it was cold, then it was screams of bloody murder "No Wellies" as he didn't want to wear his rain boots. But, I had pumped for the baby and we decided that despite the mud, I and my oldest were going strawberry picking at our CSA farm before the day got too hot. So, we jump in the car with the welly boots finally on and Papa's new CD in the player. It's quiet as we drive, just the music and then I hear him start quietly naming trucks...digger, front loader, backhoe, delivery truck, amby truck (ambulance), and off he goes. Until I hear a very quiet tractor and when I glance back he is asleep.
This song comes on, by Irish songstress Lisa Hannigan, and somehow everything slows down and a softer pace takes over.
I don't know if you write letters or panic on the phone. I'd like to call you, all the same. If you want to, I am game.
The song ends and I repeat it again. I keep doing this until we get there.
The farm has a serious hustle and bustle to it, too much for our new pace. I hear men discussing their latest marathon run in that macho-eco-warrior way that drives me nuts. My lovely son says, "Sing koopaburra (Kookaburra)" and so we start singing as I pick strawberries and he eats them. We are the only ones singing, he starts in on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. We finish picking and eating the strawberries and stay to play in the mud. I am covered and he is covered. He loses a boot in a mud puddle and neither of us care. We are laughing as I try to put it back on. As we walk back to the car, we are two muddy friends at the end of a great adventure. I don't feel 33 going on 34, I feel 2. I'm not tired, I'm refreshed. And, this is why we do all the other stuff...to be the ones singing in the mud puddles and strawberry fields. Driving home we blast Sesame Street songs:
Happy's such a neat emotion, it'll give your feet a happy motion, if your toes get tired rub in some lotion, and you'll feel swell, so come join Elmo!
Can I preserve this moment? Because I want to occaisionally run to the pantry, pull it out and breathe it all in again, like summer peaches. Maybe when I am 43 going on 44.
4 comments:
what a lovely, lovely post--I'm so glad you had this morning with your son. We picked strawberries last weekend and had a similarly rocky start (baby peed on me TWICE before we were five mintues out of the car--out of spares for him and definitely none for me!), but once I breathed and let go--open to puddles and mud and berry stains and whatever else--we had a beautiful morning. Hope you enjoy the berries for days and your memories for years, indeed.
crying...
Funny, I have been doing the exact same thing with the exact same song for the last week or so!
Just featured it on my blog the other day too- how funny!!! somehow we are in synch my dear, even if far apart!
sweet AC/DC tshirt, Cal!
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