When you have your first child, you carefully plan your day. You expose them to new things and fresh, enriching experiences.
When you have your second child, you’re lucky if everyone makes it out the door with two shoes and a moderately well-balanced breakfast.
When you have a third child, well, let’s not even go there because I don’t want to scare Kate N. too much. But I might refer you back to that post where we went to IKEA and Neko had no shoes.
Anyway, Neko went to school today and Shep and I had no real plans. The sun was shining, and with the birthday party coming up this weekend, I thought we could use some flowers for the porch. I scooped up Shep and Ellery, and we headed out.
When we got there, Shep took over. He carefully looked at all the plants and helped me carry them to the cart. When we got home, he diligently carried them to their spots, even though though were so big he nearly toppled back down the steps.
When we were done, we put Ellery down for a nap. And then Shep stayed outside and just PLAYED. It was one of those deja vu moments where I remember spending countless summer hours outside picking dandelions and running through grass and finding things to hop on. I swept the porch and took out trash, and both of us were utterly content.
I do miss Neko when she’s off at school, but I also relish these moments when Shep gets a chance to climb behind the wheel and drive the day.