Mother's Day

I'm a week late in getting out some notes on last weekend. It was really wonderful. I experienced a good bit of drop afterward, which is likely just a confirmation of what a great, short weekend it was! I got to see Christopher from 8pm on Saturday until 8am on Monday. He was amazing. He's just so perfect. Even when he's being a spirited, willful little guy!

Before I could leave Denver Saturday, I did some early morning swimming lessons with Kelly from the triathlon team. She is a great teacher and now I just need to practice the crawl more and am starting to feel I might one day not think of it as freestyle drowning. Then I negotiated two contracts for the non-profit where I volunteer. The first one was our lease and the second was a contract with the City of Denver. I think both went really well and the second even included my favorite decaf soy latte' from Satchel's. Then I

scurried home and immediately hit the road!

It's a longer road trip that I had heard from some, but it's an interesting drive in many ways.

I need some music next time, though. Finding radio stations was tricky. And I had a cool car to drive as well. Fab friends, John and Melissa, loaned me their gas-saving Volkswagon. It is a standard and, although I originally learned to drive on one, it was a major shift in habit. Fun stuff, though. Thank you to John and Mel!

Saturday night was mostly just me unpacking while Christopher played a tiny bit and then we snuggled and slept. How great it was to wake up with him curled up beside me on Mother's Day--just like our first one!

That was all the gift I wanted. We had some banana bread (yummy and made by Gwen) and OJ and then later bagels with cream cheese and chocolate milk. And a hike just outside Santa Fe. Christopher did all his own hiking and even some bouldering.

Afterward, we went on another trail that had a stream and we took off our shoes and did some wading. That was freezing, COLD mountain water! We also floated some leaf boats downstream. Christopher loved it.

Then we went for a soak and sauna at Ten Thousand Waves. That was Christopher's idea! I was a little hesitant because I wasn't sure he'd really like it, but he surely did. We donned our matching kimonos and soaked our feet first while sipping cucumber water and watching the koi pond. Then we got into the tub and enjoyed the jets and heat. Next was the sauna, which I thought he'd surely dislike, but he really loved that too! We also had a bean cake and some hibiscus tea. Though not exactly meditative and quiet, Christopher was really great and had a fun time at the Spa. He also touched some hearts by bringing dandelions and kisses to the Buddhas. He told me that the kissing was going to make the Buddha "come alive."

Heading back "home," he fell asleep. Home for the weekend was with my dear friends, D'Marie and Johnnie who just recently moved to Santa Fe. What a wonderful coincidence from the Universe. After Christopher woke up from his nap, we checked on the nice flower he gave me for Mother's Day and sat out in the adobe courtyard with D'Marie and watched the ants work. We even fed the ants a bit too. Then, when Johnnie got home from work, we went our for an early dinner and Christopher and I shared a huge Italian soda (yes, he ate all the whipped cream and cherries!) After dinner, we all played a board game of Christopher's and then got ready for bed. Once in his PJs, Christopher decided we needed to load up the car and drive home to Denver. He was a bit upset when I told him the real plans, but we got through it.

Monday was a hurried morning. I packed the car and made breakfast for Christopher before he got up. Then we got dressed, ate and said good-byes to D'Marie and a sleepy Johnnie and headed to school. We were a bit early so we got to have an extended time for our own good-byes and that went really well for Christoph. I got gas and headed North. It was a foggy drive, but magically cleared the moment I hit Colorado. I changed cars with Melissa in the Springs and got to work by 1:30pm. Pretty amazing all around.

I'm thankful to friends from all over holding me and Christopher in love. I'm thankful for the generosity of friends like John & Melissa and D'Marie & Johnnie. I'm thankful for Mother's Day with my baby. I'm thankful to Bevin for giving me the time. I'm thankful for Christopher being the wonderful son and beautiful, sensitive, emerging person he is. And I'm thankful to the Universe for the lessons I'm learning in "carpe' diem."