When I'm riding my bike home from work, I can hardly go fast enough.  Even though I'm dodging traffic at the 5:00 hour, I can feel a smile coming on as I think about seeing Linnea again.  This must be the feeling of motherhood I've heard so much about.  This morning I think I experienced it again.  Nothing particularly interesting or different happened.  Miguel had left for work on his bike and we had waved goodbye in the yard.  We took the dogs to the park and walked around the circle a couple times.  We went down the slide and back and forth on the swings a few times.   We came inside and Linnea was sitting in her ExerSaucer tapping some things around.  The dogs were laying on the couch watching me walk around.  At that moment, I realized that I was happy - really happy.  I took a moment to think about it because it felt so nice.  Work is going well, we're healthy, we're having fun, and Linnea is making strides in her daily development. 

Sometimes I think about it and I'm actually stricken with sadness simply because everything is going so well.   So today I had a moment when I realized that noticing happiness is just as important as being happy.  Perhaps those moments are fleeting and they don't officially last very long - but I'm going to try to have more of them.

After researching for a client project the other day, I came across this video: www.theyearsareshort.com.  I'm not sure if this would have hit home a year ago as much as it does today - but it does tug on the heart strings a bit. 

This is it.  This is life.

My parents came to visit this past weekend.  Miguel and I had the pleasure of playing my dad in racquetball after an 8 year hiatus (the last time I played Dad I was in college).  We played for 2.5 hours and we loved every minute of it.  Dad & Margo got in as many photo sessions as they could in their 3 day visit.  Linnea was a good sport and she allowed us to get a few 'keepers'.  Every time we have family visits, we talk about how we wish we lived closer to each other.  I wonder where Linnea is going to be when we're 50 years old.  Is she going to move far away too?  I can see how that would be hard to deal with when college comes around.  Kids are so eager to get out of the house - and parents wouldn't mind holding on a bit longer.  

For now, I'm loving the nights when Linnea falls asleep in my arms and the mornings when she wakes up with a big chubby leg stretch in the bed.  Her squeal of delight when I say 1 - 2 - 3 - and tickle her little tummy.  And that happy feeling of anticipation when I'm riding home from work - that soon I'll be able to see my little girl again.