A Moment of Bliss

This morning was the kid’s first swim meet, at a swim club an hour north of here.

We woke everyone up just after the crack of dawn, with the goal of leaving before 7AM.  (Not a common practice in our house.)

Our day was interesting right away since this is what we saw just outside the garage door.



Just in case you aren’t impressed enough by that specimen, let me put it into perspective.  This is my foot.



As we were leaving our neck of the woods we passed this property.



I said, “We should really get a bunch of bird houses like that, because then the birds in our yard will be really happy!”

And Jared said, “No mom, we don’t want you to become the weird bird lady!”

So there you have it.  I am not allowed to have 50+ birdhouses in our yard…

Our drive to the meet was uneventful.  We ate cold pizza for breakfast, I worked on some new cards, and the girls talked about how nervous they were.  The meet was HOT and HUMID and everyone had fun.



When it was all over we ate hotdogs there at the pool and then climbed into the van, sticky with sweat and looking forward to the air-conditioned ride home.  We stopped to gas up and one of the little kids reminded Russ that he had promised they could get a cold drink there.  (A big deal in our frugal family.)

They took their time, choosing first one drink and then another.  Finally we were all back in the car for the trip home.

Russ had printed out some GoogleMap directions; two years ago when he made this drive he got lost and had to call for BlondeStar help.  With his map we charted an adventurous return course on small back country roads.

One of the things I love about driving on my North Carolina Roads


(besides the beautiful green trees, and the wedge of sky, and today the amazing clouds)
is that you never know what’s around the next bend; an old tobacco barn, a plantation-worthy home,



tobacco fields and the tractors that plow them,



or even this!



About 30 minutes into our drive home everyone was feeling pretty good.  The air-conditioning was on full blast and the cold drinks were a success.  And then I heard it on the radio; a three chord intro that just make my heart happy.

Michael Buble.

I Just Haven’t Met You Yet.

(Just thinking of the song makes me smile, it’s so much fun.  Even if the words have nothing to do with my life.)

So I cranked up the radio, and we were all singing at the top of our lungs, and Russ and I were waving our drinks (his soda, my icee) back and forth to the rhythm of the song, and for a moment, everything was perfect.

I don’t know what causes these little pockets of perfection in our otherwise ordinary life.  They certainly can’t be orchestrated or forced in any way.

Maybe that’s why, when they do happen, they are so remarkable.  And why I want to be able to remember later, in a moment where people are whiney or complaining, that on this day for 4 minutes and 5 seconds —

There was bliss.