...it started out normal enough. lyla was happy. livie was happy. both were content to be in the double stroller...i felt like a true mom as care-free, child-free women passed me by. but i was at target and with my friend and her two little boys in their double stroller at my side, what could go wrong?
for starters, i forgot to bring juice. again.
so after the incessant asking for juice coming from the front of the stroller, i found the cheapest sippy cup i could and a juice box and ripped both open to calm the storm that was brewing.
did i mention i forgot cookies too? no? well, let's just throw that into the mix as well...why not.
the first juice box went into the sippy without a hitch. mom was a hero, yet again i might add, and lyla proudly pointed at the eyes and nose and mouth of her new cat/sippy.
"more juice! more juice!"
"can you please say please lyla?"
"pleeeeease mama!!"
"that's my girl."
the second juice box, not so successful. i got the flimsy straw poked in fine but i squeezed the box a little too tightly and juice went everywhere. good thing i have a toddler, i've noticed that people tend to excuse the clumsiness of the adult when a little one is around...but most of the juice made it's way into the sippy and life was good again. for a moment. until i heard my friend gasp.
at first, i didn't notice what the gasping was about. was it a new trinket that i must have? maybe it was a million dollars sitting there with my name on it! glory be! nope. me, in my distracted state forgot to fully seal the cheap sippy and lyla was now completely soaked with apple/banana/peach juice.
i assessed the damage, noted that she was still smiling and having fun, decided that i didn't need to get her a new outfit (couldn't justify it anyways, seeing as i was only 2 minutes from home), felt like a horrible mom anyways because i was letting my smiling, happy, content daughter sit there in wet, sticky clothes, shopped for a bit longer and then headed home.
exhausted.
tired.
spent.
from one trip out.
even though, shockingly, livie slept the majority of the time.
slowly i moved around the kitchen trying to figure out what to make for lunch when a sound from the living room caught my attention.
i stopped what i was doing, trying to place the noise...at first thinking i had heard something on the radio. and then it dawned on me.
i crept around the corner to see the most beautiful sight my eyes have ever beheld. there, on the floor, stripped down to her diaper, lyla was laying beside her sister laughing. but she wasn't alone in her laughing. livie, from the soles of her sweet little feet, was laughing right along with her. about what, i don't know...but they locked eyes and laughed. together. and my heart was overcome with emotion and relief. i stood there and cried as my two little girls created a special place in their hearts just for each other.
i felt blessed and honored to have witnessed such an amazing moment.
and amazingly enough, i wasn't tired or exhausted anymore. lunch was made in record time, lyla got dry clothes on and we talked and sang our way through our meal.
and there is one more beautiful laugh adding itself to our home.
