It's warm but the clouds have overtaken any blue sky that was visible,the drops of rain are landing in our fresh batch of mojitos. i'm sitting with my dad, watching him take apart his old watch on the picnic bench outside. his company is easy, has always been that way. my mother is busy being busy, she's concerned there are no fresh buns, i snicker as food is always her main concern when were over. my children never tire but i have contained them in the living room, retro cartoons are my sedative of choice for them tonight....peace at last. were on day three of a seven day visit to victoria and it's going WAY to fast for my liking.
the garden smells of life and of my past...it's so much work to produce a garden of this size but they live for it (so do the kids and i).
our conversations sail through fishing story's to how to prune that weed of a fig tree they transplanted for me 7 years ago and as we chat i think to myself...this is my sweet spot, i have finally arrived.
my children are no longer babies, YET their not preteens, they're pretty independent (what i mean by that is they can wipe their own bums and grab a granola bar while watching tv on saturday mornings so mom and dad sleep in. i know right, magical!) but they still enjoy being around us all day!
it's a wonderful spot, were grandparents are KING & parents are still super heros. they love family adventures, they don't care how they look in public (at least mine don't!) and when asked to unload the dishwasher they throw a minimal stink. hormones have not yet invaded their bodies making them ALMOST rational during any "NO you can't " conversations. you can also watch shows like "master chef " with them and they enjoy it (and you enjoy it)! this ones AWESOME... they can entertain themselves for LONG periods of time, really, it's just a gift from god!
every few months we take off to Victoria (which the kids CAN'T wait to do and we stay as long as were able and in this sweet spot i'm back to enjoying my parents and our conversations about anything and everything. when they were little it was always the same job in a different location, with help from my parents of course but still exhausting but it was never a TRUE adult child /parent visit, as the children always needed something.
i'm brought back to the present by my mom asking if i want tomato soup tomorrow for lunch, "yes, of course...thanks mom". i slip back to my thoughts and I start to feel sadness as i know in five years all this will be dramatically different. as it should be, life is not static and we must embrace it. but today i don't want to, i don't want any of this to change...i want to put my fingers in my ears and start humming and saying 'laa laa laa laa laa, i can't hear you future change" i stop only for a sip of this AMAZING mojito, because i'm getting parched from ignoring the future!
i always want my children to scream with joy when i say we are heading to victoria and my parents to swing them as they walk down the road to mt.doug mountain. sigh. is that to much to ask!? so sweet spot i will embrace this time (burn it into my memories and live in the moments of this pure childhood, were parents are free, children are still all ours and grandparents are heathy, as i have the knowledge that it will end sooner than i would like).
my dad pours more mojito into my empty cup, i smile and say "bottoms up", he follows my lead. for this day will not end on a sad note, i will enjoy my adult conversation and my independent children for as long as the universe allows, i will wear my sweet spot badge with pride as it has taken me 8 years to been awarded it!
