“Mom, I am Catwoman and Mario is Batman and you are WOnder Woman.  The Joker is following us and we need to escape.”

“Drive the jet faster, mom! We need to get away!” 

And that’s how our morning started.  I drove the Volvo jet down King Avenue in order to escape the Joker.  Catwoman kept an eye out and fixed my lasso while Batman made all sorts of plans for our get-away.  We didn’t watch any tv in the car.  Beautiful.  We arrived at the nursery having escaped all bad guys. 

I promised the kids that they could each get a small plant to put in their rooms.  I figured that such a gift was a lot healthier than a plastic toy.  I had read numerous articles about the attributes of house plants recently and hoped that it would get Maria and Mario jump started on green thumbs (I need all the help I can get with my back yard).  Mario spent the first fifteen minutes in the nursery frightening the fish in the pond by trying to reach in and grab their tails.  I ignored him for a bit but when the nursery employee kept giving me the evil eye, I told him to stop.  Maria played with the nursery kitty – a big ol’ plump tabby cat who let Maria carry her everywhere.  I found some pots to re-plant my grandma’s flowers from her wake, and waited for Maria and Mario to pick out their plants.  Mario chose a plain green one and Maria chose a green one with white polka dots.  They got their pots (Maria, red and Mario, green) and we headed home.  They took their plants out of the plastic container and re-planted them in their pots – so proud of doing it themselves.  Maria built a little “home” for her plant with a balcony and a hot tub and a bed.  Mario placed his on his chest.  They do add some life to their rooms.

By the time we finished that adventure, it was starting to warm up outside.  I enticed them to head to the woods with me by telling them we may find baby bunnies or eggs in a bird’s nest.  Of course, we found no such things but by that time, they enjoyed just running through the woods and climbing rocks.  I needed to be outdoors.  I have felt stifled for the last week and a half with grandma’s sickness and eventual death.  Even though I have gotten outdoors for runs with my sis or walks by myself, I have not been able to enjoy the sunshine and the songs of the birds.  My brain constantly wafted into a separate world – blurry and lacking much emotion.  I just got by for those days.  To actually feel some emotion again and the warm sun on my face was refreshing.  And Maria and Mario only added to the day by making me laugh again and again as we walked through the woods and played in the sand volleyball court and the swings.  

After my grandma’s funeral earlier this week, a few people approached me to comment about what personality Maria and Mario exhibited.  One commented at how they were both so spirited and happy; another commented on how outgoing and engaging they were; another at how confident they acted.  It naturally made me proud as their mama but it also made me happy.  And as we hiked up a hill full of sticks and mud, making jokes and laughing at one another, I remembered those comments, and felt such an intense moment of joy.  These babes of ours are genuinely happy creatures, not scared to take risks and adventures, ready to question ideas they don’t understand, comfortable in their skin, able to laugh at themselves.  They take our lives up a notch. 

Jon met us at the park and we watched them brave a climb up a huge rock.  

We didn’t say a peep. Just stood back and admired the view.