May momentum

It's around this time of year that everything outside starts to look alive again. The trees begin to green  up, and the flowers we pass every day on the way to the park command us to stop and appreciate their beauty. I swear the trip takes 5 minutes longer because we are oggling the blooms.  But that's okay. If being able to stay at home has taught me anything, it's that I am surrounded by a world of color and beauty that I dearly missed when I was rushing to and fro each day.  I'm glad I can take a few extra minutes and show my girls what they are living through: another spring full of new life.  Isn't this what we waited for all winter?  Well, now it's here so I need to slow down and drink it in.  I may be rushed to get to pick up on time or want to sprint to the park some afternoons, but I'm never really late for anything. So there's lots of time to enjoy things like the cherry blossoms that bloomed out at the end of April and have been falling like pink snow ever since. It's absolutely beautiful to be standing in.

And yes, the paths to the parks have been wearing holes in my loafers the past couple of weeks.   Most days we are on a morning and afternoon routine split between the two parks we frequent. I take Carolina just before pick up and then back again once we have Elisa. Or if Nacho is home, he'll collect her and we'll all meet up for lunch at Lou Lodati.  The girls love each park for different reasons, and it's clear that mixing it up makes everyone happier.  Elisa finds people to play with wherever she goes, and on the rare occasion when it's just her and Carolina, she manages to make that fun as well. Yesterday, they played and chased one another for a good 30 minutes and I was delighted to see the true friendship they're building. It has nothing to do with me and I love that even more. 

Afternoons are almost exclusively reserved for jaunts over to Sunnyside Gardens Park after the girls wake from naps. We're in the middle of transitioning Elisa out of her steady nap habit (reserving it for days she really needs to be up later or is recovering from something), and it's still a bit difficult for us to be out of the house before 4 p.m. But we manage to make the most of that late afternoon sunshine and I rely on this as my one sure social opportunity of the day. Watching two kids at the public park is a bit distracting since I'm usually chasing Carolina away from the swings.  But at SGP, I can usually find a few minutes to sit and relax, sometimes with adult beverage. Now how can you beat that on a warm day?  And there's always someone to share with which makes it even better.  I brought four cans of beer the other day with some lime slices and two minutes into the park, we were enjoying some refreshments and catching up on the latest Kindergarten talk. Somehow it made it all more palatable.  

The walk home is always a bit of a drag, but leaving the park with friends makes it somehow easier.  We meander through the Gardens and stop off at different house saying goodbye. Usually Elisa wants a playdate right there on the spot--or in the case of Leonardo's house--a jam session with their made up band.  It's sometimes difficult to refuse.  And more and more, Carolina is part of these interactions and Elisa welcomes it....most of the time. I tried explaining to her the other night that when Carolina plays with her friends it's a good thing because it means they can all get along together. And little by little, her friends have also shown that they welcome this little sister into the fold. So as May winds on and the days get warmer and longer, we'll be sticking to this formula (park + nap + park = happy) for the forseeable future. Except tomorrow when it rains. Boo.