the front row (life lessons from pinterest)

there was an image on pinterest that screamed, "psst hey! look at me!" it showcased a roller coaster and the difference in the facial expressions between the people inhabiting the front row and those in the third row. front row peeps were filled with glee, their smiles brimming with zest for life. their mouths so excited, you could practically hear their squeals of delight bouncing from the photo. third row? straight faces, silent expressions, no grand gesture of fun. stuck on survival mode.

i want to live every day of my life on the front row.

on tuesday i woke up with a grand appreciation for the blessing of greeting another day. there is something so monumental about another day that is not lost on me. there was a play date at the aquarium and a pint sized redhead with an intense interest in sharks. there was also sharp pain in my left knee. chest pains from my gallstones. crazy nausea i should be better equipped to handle by now. a thyroid headache. (i need to have my TSH levels checked.) swollen and aching lymph nodes from EBVand possibly CMV as well. i came so close to calling it a home day. i hurt, literally everywhere. the more i thought about it, the more overwhelmed i felt trying to navigate my way through this silly stuff happening at once. but truly? it isn't that much. i'll deal.

you've got to get up every morning

with a smile on your face

and show the world

all the love in your heart

{carole king; beautiful}

every day is halloween when you are sookie ;)

i put my big girl panties (and my combat boots and some armor for good measure) on. we made shadow puppets in the driveway and my heart leapt as sookie's eyes were transformed with whimsy. we saw a unicorn fish swim with the likes of a sea turtle. (YES. a.unicorn.fish!) we ooooed over disturbingly brightly colored poisonous frogs. sookie remarked it was a "bee frog" because it was yellow and black. sookie touched a shark (and a stingray!) and told me they both "felt like frawberries." everything lately feels and smells like frawberries. (strawberries) we had a leaf party in poppa and glamma's backyard.

wednesday was new friends and swings and a stunning fall morning at the park. lunch with daddy. costco wandering adventures where we didn't buy anything, but i shared the huge, important life lesson that if you are a good girl, sometimes they give you little tastes of free food. (she was all over this!) we ventured for lunch at one of our favorite places. later in the evening we painted a jungle scene, colors everywhere, adam durtiz singing, our noses smashed into each other and oh, it was a moment. one of those isthisreallymylifei'msostinkinhappyrightnow kind of moments in which you want to freeze it and put into a sparkly jar. ;)

the days when it is harder and feels downright impossible to push through your obstacles, those days are when everything tastes sweeter. every little gift, every little laugh, every little victory.