Much-Needed Bliss

It's been a tough week, I guess. Every day felt like it was supposed to be Friday, which made each ensuing morning pretty crappy. I've been teetering on the edge of that black hole that people (or at least weirdos like me) tumble into when they're not taking care of themselves or are stretched too thin or whatever. I know it's there, and I know I'm on the brink of it, but I haven't been able to do anything about it. I was thinking about that last night and feeling pretty low, and decided I'd blog about it today. But I also made sure to spend some time in prayer too, and I have to say that today brought some respite from the grind of life, and made me decide not to spend time in sad blogger hell.
I spent an iTunes card last night and got some new music - some at the suggestion of my rock star brother (Jon) and some old Styx songs too. I'm more embarrassed to admit I bought Styx songs than I am to proclaim how much I like Herb Alpert's music. Anyway, the office was quiet today, as I was the only one there, and I got to listen to all my new songs. I had to leave early for a Mom's lunch put on by Emma's kindergarten class. My boss told me to take the rest of the afternoon too. I think what he said was that I had "busted my butt" enough this week and I should just enjoy the rest of the day. Truer words have seldom been spoken. So I did enjoy it.
I checked Emma out of school after the luncheon (Drew was taking a test, so he couldn't come) and we went to the local botanical garden/cool playground. It was a nice day - breezy, but a little hot. We decided to play on the swings and then go see the flowers. We parked far away from the flowers, actually, and close to the swings. This was not significant at the time.
Just as we meandered into the garden, a raindrop actually landed in my eye - even though I was wearing sunglasses. It was a warning shot. The moment we reached the far end of the garden coincided with the moment of a torrential downpour - a sun shower - with no roiling black clouds, thunder, or lightning. Surprise! That 10% chance of rain landed right on our heads! We were instantly soaked, so why bother running to the car? Plus, the car was far away, as I said earlier. Emma and I started to just laugh and then she ran for it. Sensibly, you would think that she ran for cover under a pergola, right? Wrong. And this is perhaps one of the proudest moments of my life as a mother. All that I have poured into her has come out just as I had hoped it would. She ran straight to the middle of the garden with her hands held high in the air! So I did too. We did a little rain dancing and slowly made our way to the car, soaked to the skin. My little high-heeled sandals that I had put on for work earlier did not help us get there any faster. But, that was okay by me. It was all I needed, really. We came home and I washed her hair and set her up with a milk bath (with extra fragrance oil at her request - she's nearly as professional at bathing as I am!) and a candle and some homemade sugar scrub. Then I laid down on my amazing bed and just....well....just did that.
I think I can soldier on now.

DAILY BLISS: My card from the luncheon - Em had drawn me laying in a red canopy bed eating grapes while she (dressed like a genie, of course) fanned me with a palm frond! Also, the look on Andrew's face today when he realized the truth - the Star Wars theme music is TOTALLY pirated from Holst's "Mars." Priceless.