Perfect is as perfect does

Yesterday, I experienced one of those rare, wonderful days where everything went so swimmingly, I almost had to pinch myself.

The good karma began when both Peanut and Loaf slept in later than usual and instead of jumping out of bed at 6 a.m. to try to get some things done before they got up, I took advantage of that and slept in too. The last time I was still horizontal at 7:45 a.m., I had the flu and a 103-degree fever. So . . . yeah. That was pretty cool.

The extra shut-eye made both the babes cheerful and whine-free. We all ate breakfast together discussing the merits of pink Play-Doh and how many swimming pools we are going to swim in at ”Elmo’s house” when we go later this month. (Well, Peanut and I discussed them. Loaf pretty much just sat in her highchair pointing at various objects and proclaiming, “EH?!”)

Next, it was off to the park because (are you sitting down?) IT WASN’T RAINING!! I know, I know . . . this story is starting to sound really far-fetched. But really, it wasn’t. And while the sun wasn’t out and it was actually kind of cool, there were not large droplets of water falling from the sky and these days, that’s about the best we can hope for. So off to the playground we went.

There, both girls were on their absolute best behavior. They both sat in the sandbox for a good 15 minutes, allowing me to actually sit on the bench and zone out a bit instead of the typical running from slide to swing to bouncy car trying to prevent one or both of them from needing to go to the ER.

At the park, some one left one of those Cozy Coupes and Loaf, Peanut and another little girl were all playing with it. The other mom and I were playing the role of “the sharing cops” when all of a sudden, Peanut jumped out on her own and declared that the other little girl could have a turn. Granted, she ran off in the other direction to do something else, and she has never, EVER exhibited that behavior with her own sister, but still, I was stoked. And proud.

After the park, we went home and had lunch and Loaf took her nap while Peanut and I went outside. She “helped” me work in the garden by pulling weeds and was very interested watching me stake some plants that have toppled over due to the Seattle-like weather we’ve had since mid-June. And sometime while we were out there, the sun actually came out. It was a bit shocking at first and took a while for my eyes to adjust to actual natural light, but I think my eyesight is almost back to normal now. Whew!

I got a ton – TON – done in the garden, so by the time Loaf woke up (around 2 p.m.) I was feeling pretty good. But then something truly miraculous happened with both girls outside: THEY PLAYED TOGETHER—FOR HOURS—WITHOUT FIGHTING, SCREECHING AT, HITTING, OR KICKING EACH OTHER. I almost don’t want to say it out loud for fear of jinxing myself and never again experiencing the joy of cooperative, calm, and peace-loving children. It was probably a really wonderful sight, but I was so busy gardening that I barely noticed. Selfish, bad me.

OK, it wasn’t exclusively like that. I did get in a few rounds of ring-around-the-rosy with them (can someone explain the appeal of this to kids? Because mine can do it indefinitely it seems), as well as built them a few sandcastles (promptly squished), and picked them each a few flowers (promptly plucked apart). And then they’d happily go back to playing on their own. Bliss!

Later, Mark made dinner (portobello/swiss burgers and sweet potato soup), which everyone gobbled right up. However, both girls looked as though they’d dipped their heads in their soup bowls, so next came a bath. Once they were scrubbed and shined, we piled them in the stroller and set out for our nightly walk.

Peanut seemed a little too quiet on the way home and I peaked over the stroller’s canopy to discover her snoozing away. I could not believe it! She hasn’t done that since she was an infant. Come to think of it, since she required being held non-stop for the first seven months of her life, she never even did that as infant.

We got home and lifted Peanut into bed, put Loaf to bed and there I was, once again, a woman with free time. What to do? Mop the kitchen floor? Organize the linen closet? Paint some more of the trim in the hallway? Nah! I plopped down on the couch and watched two episodes of So You Think You Can Dance (buh-bye Jaymz, you whiny, fell-off-the-stage-last-week goofball). And then I went to bed where I slept until the alarm went off this morning.

I may never again experience a day quite so easy and perfect, but at least I can look back at this entry and assure myself that it really did happen. At least once.