Second Best Day

I posted this recently, but thought it was worth a second post: Amelia's love note to herself.

Today she gave me a love-note of sorts. This morning I made a list of everything we had to do. Amelia was in charge of the list. She re-copied it in the car on the way to the farmers' market. I hate errands. If Amelia hadn't been reading the list aloud in the car, I likely would have skipped the grocery store, natural food store, and buying that gift certificate for our neighbor.

The girls were great on the errands, but they kept fighting in the car. It was really frustrating, and we had some serious talks during which my annoying, low-pitched, thin-lipped, crazy mommy voice jabbed out uncontrollably. That voice probably creeps into their nightmares. Ugh.

At home, they played their creative games while I put away groceries.They put on a puppet show for me (puppets compliments of socks and sharpies.) We made a little headway in the basement mess that I've ignored since we had foam insulation blown into the walls in early December. (We had to move a lot of stuff--a lot--around, and never put it back.) Then we played The Essential Michael Jackson and danced like crazy people in the entryway. (NOTE: I dream of learning electric bass and playing The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back.")

After cheese quesadillas, we painted Amelia's wooden AWANA car, danced some more, and finally sat down to eat strawberries (what?!? in February??!? yes--I caved), and Amelia announced out of nowhere:

"This is the second-best day of my life."

What?!? All the errands? The crazy mommy voice? The basement cleanout? What?!?

"The first best day is a tie--the water park in Ocean City and the water park at Great Wolf Lodge."

I had this overwhelming sense of love, warmth, humility, gratitude, awe...you name it. Somehow today was the second best day of Amelia's life. Second only to the two times in her life she's been to a water park. How does that happen? I don't know...but a lovely snow was falling pretty much all afternoon, which I've always thought is its own sort of magic.

Oh how I love these girls. These days.