Carving a New Corner with Happy

While the calendar says there are three weeks left in the school year, my gut says the learning is done. Between field and track days, field trips, and all of the performances, there's no way Alexis has done any serious mathing or sciencing lately.

It's cool, though. I'm enjoying the concerts and ... whatever that thing is that happened today. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it, but it involved a lot of fourth graders reciting and acting out things. It was delightful, as these things tend to be. It was made even more delightful because HI, MILA.

The thing about a band concert is that it's easy to sit front and center with a toddler. A lot is happening, so she's entertained. And when she's not? It's okay. She can't possibly raise her volume to a level that overwhelms the trumpet section.

Spoken word, though. Oh, a toddler can out-volume that. Easily.

And, thus, the sitting and watching Alexis recite words happened from a hallway because I am not crazy enough to try to keep Mila muzzled and still. There is not enough duct tape in this world. I was happier standing at the wings, Mila was better off, and all of the kids were great.

As enjoyable as the performance was, it was the moments leaving the performance that were notable. It wasn't that anything particularly amazing happened -- it was very much so a little thing that happens often. But it's one of those little things that I want to carve into the walls in the corners of my brain because someday I'll want to run my fingers over those carvings as I look back and smile.

Mila, with Alexis on one side and me on the other, was happily holding hands as we walked through the parking lot. We're fortunate that she's willing to do that because when she's not physically restrained, she's running at top speed. As much as toddling quickly across a parking lot is cute, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine it ending badly because have you met a toddler? They have no respect for cars. Zero. Zip. Zilch. They'll run in front of a car and they'll do it while laughing because life is fun when you're little.

Life is fun when you're holding hands with your sister and mom, too. It's especially fun when they carefully swing you over the cracks in the road. With each little swing, Mila giggled. There was giggle after giggle after giggle and it really is very easy to make her happy these days.

It was the perfect 30 seconds.