Piggyback Ride

So, the other night, Scott asked Leah if she wanted to go for a piggyback ride. "Yeah, yeah," she replied, so Scott hoisted her up to his shoulders, and started racing around the house. Most of the time, Leah LOVES this, commanding Scott to "Go!" if he even pauses for a moment. This time, however, she wiggled and squirmed, trying to get down.

I'm sure my hubby thought, "What is going on?" so he lowered Leah to the couch.

And then she answered his question: She walked over to her basket of stuffed animals, pulled out her pig, and sat down on its back... for a piggyback ride. "Ride," she said, pointing to her Daddy.

"But Daddy can't give you a ride on your piggy."
"Ride." Nothing could dissuade our little Evil Knievel. If she could ride her motorcycle, her car, a laundry basket, box, or Daddy's shoulders, why could she not also ride her piggy?

So, like any great Daddy would, Scott figured out a way for Leah to go for a (literal) piggyback ride. Our little girl was in hog heaven (sorry, but I couldn't resist!)!

Happy Moments

Generally speaking, I consider myself to be a joyful, content person. Perhaps that's why the little moments in life are what please me most. Go figure that most of these revolve around family and friends.

*Happy moment: Watching Scott run around the house with Leah on his shoulders.

*Happy moment: Leah running laps around the house while repeating "Go, Leah, go!"

*Happy moment: Cuddling on the couch with Leah and a pile of books.

*Happy moment: Enjoying a roaring fire, courtesy of my hubby, while playing with Leah and Scott in the family room.

*Happy moment: Weekend mornings when Scott gets up with Leah. Inevitably, she'll ask for "Momma," and then come racing into our bedroom to crawl in bed with me and snuggle under the covers.

*Happy moment: One-on-one time with my girlfriends so that we can catch up on life.


I'm sure many of you have read the quote: "Life is a series of moments; to live each one is to succeed." Maybe that's why I take such joy in the simple things. Enjoying life is being in the here and now, the day-to-day. When we get hung up on the big events, we fail to notice the beauty in the ordinary, which better defines us than the grand times in our lives. After all, it's in the ordinary, the everyday, that we have the most contact with the ones we love most, isn't it?

Unplugged

Okay, so "unplugging" for a few days was probably much easier for me than for many of you who read this. After all, I'm the one who has (and uses) a cell phone out of necessity rather than a desire to stay connected to everyone. (Staying connected/ accessible to everyone 24-7 would absolutely exhaust me!) Still, I'm actually a bit surprised by how easy it was.

Today is the first day I've actually turned on the computer since Friday. (At least, I THINK I turned it on then.) It's not that I've done this on purpose; it's just that life was happening in the here and now. I simply didn't have a CHANCE to connect electronically.

Not surprisingly, I really didn't mind the "dis-connect". Granted, that meant that I had plenty of emails to sort through this afternoon, as well as plenty of other computer-related tasks to tackle (order gifts, back-up photos, scan the computer, check the Christmas list/ budget), but none of those was too overwhelming or time-consuming. (Of course, I say this as I look at the clock and realize that I really need to get my workout in before Leah wakes up.) Plus, "unplugging" allowed me to accomplish quite a bit over the weekend.

Maybe I should try this a bit more often.