September 15, 2010

Ari and I started the morning with a game of Go! She always beats me. She gave me a piece of advice. "The best way to play Go! is to abandon all hope. Then you pay attention to what is happening on the board and making choices based on the present." We had a long conversation about this concept and it applicability to every day life. The concept came up several times throughout the day. Each time we laughed at the wisdom it encapsualted and how easily it could be applied to make life better.

Ari got dressed and then exclaimed, "I want to see Damek." Damek is truly her best friend. I told her that I knew Damek and his family were going to pick berries. I really wanted to pick berries too, so I tried to get a hold of my friend Julie. Since we could not get a hold of them I told Ari we could still drive to Payson and go to the berry farm with the understanding that it might end up being a nice drive and a new experience without seeing friends. We agreed we wanted to go anyway.

On the way I mentioned to Ari, "I hope we get to see friends." and she very clearly stated, "Mom, just abandon hope of that now and you will be much happier." And then we laughed. Right after that a commercial came on the radio advertising, "stories of hope" and we joked about them being about as useful as fairy tales.

We got to the berry farm and picked and the girls played for awhile but it was hot. We finally decided to head back home and stop and get some lunch. We took a long drive through back roads and talked about how much we would like to live in the middle of nowhere. Some place close enough for John to still get to work but far from neighbors and busyness.

We stopped for lunch and then were heading for home when we saw Julie pass us going toward the berry farm. We thought it was too funny just to let the moment pass and we followed her. It was so fun and amazing to accidentally run in to our friends when we had really figured we were not going to get to see them. Turns out she was a little turned around and showed her how to get to the berries and then we stayed and played and picked for a while.

We ended up bringing Damek home with us for a late over and we are going to get to play with him today too. Mina walked around the house last night telling me she "Really liked Maddie." a friend that came with them and wanted, "Maddie to come to my house."

Another development yesterday, Ari wore pants with a zipper and snap (like jeans) for almost the first time. Certainly, this was the longest she has ever worn them and she loved them. I am watching her grow and develop in so many wonderful ways. I am extremely lucky to be the mom to both of these great girls. Ari has even given me permission to start posting her pictures out here, which for her is a huge deal.