Leave It

In an effort to be less preoccupied with fatigue and more intoxicated with my surroundings, I left all my baggage at home today.

Took the kids to a petting zoo and left behind the iPad.

Drove off down 495 bereft of Nikon.

Left the snacks/drinks in the refrigerator and pantry instead of duplicating one of each over my shoulder.

Took off for hours without so much as an extra set of clothes for Abby.

Even left my credit card behind although that one was not on purpose.

Aannnd the most shocking of all? I Did.Not.Take.Sadie.

You know what? 

Going organic worked. There wasn't dense fog where decisions should be.  I didn't crave silence.  There wasn't an invisible pull from the quick fix of a drive-thru window to my minivan for a hot latte.  My mind didn't gnaw at itself trying to get on Google to come up with alternative plans in case the petting zoo idea tanked. 

In lieu of toxicity, there was this inner calm washing over my brain letting me enjoy my time with the daytime and those two little heartbeats in the back seat.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sad there aren't any pictures of the tractor ride we took today with 30 of the most interesting strangers.  Like the man with Adam Lambert hair who was clearly hitting on the single father sitting next to us. It got pretty awkward when Adam Lambert's Hair guy was redirected by his own wife and two daughters who materialized out of thin air from the front of the trailer. Maybe they have an agreement: not at the petting zoo, Honey.

I'm completely bummed not to have any documentation of the prickly ostrich head stalking two unaware lovebirds to my left.  Ostrich made stealth move and silently pressed between the two, barely in their line of vision. Seconds later, the screech of the girl in an emerald tank top made my kids, me, and 28 other voyeurs laugh so hard my sunglasses fell backwards to become zebra mulch. Serves me right. I should have told her there was an ostrich nose on the nape of her boyfriend's neck.

I'm wishing I could show you all how much fun it was to see Abby give a bottle of milk to the meekest baby black goat in the place.  She fed that little man like it was her job and did so with such tenderness that her 2 year old voice will echo in my heart long after my ears forget how she kept calling him her precious darling.

I want to show you a video of how Grayson bulldozered through a snow cone without coming up for air.  He was a busted mess of rainbow lips, chin, and cheeks when it was all over but  neither of us cared to wipe it off.  It was a gorgeous drippy badge of honor for having an appetite again.

I wish you all could see the hundreds of daytime stars diamond their way through a weeping willow as the sun toyed with its lanky vines.

But you know something?  Simplicity is the answer when your question is how to get back to the center again.

I left behind the things that are supposed to enhance my life.

And brought along the ones that actually do.

(For the record, once weather permits Sadie will once again be brought along. Girlfriend loves ostrich.)