Paige and I have been listening to a lot of Ingrid Michaelson recently. Fynn covers his ears. It's not the Yellow Submarine, Heard it through the Grapevine or Curious George soundtrack... so you know... it doesn't meet his criteria for good listening music.
But Paige and I have been listening and my girl loves the song Everybody.
She asks me to sing the "everybody" song and I happily oblige with the chorus:
Everybody, everybody wants to love,
Everybody, everybody wants to be loved.
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
We usually involve some dancing and bouncing and me swinging her upside down and kissing under her chin and she laughs full belly laughs...
And now she sings in her sweet almost two year old voice "Everybody loooove" and then "oh oh oh, oh oh oh!" Sweetest thing ever.
We're at Maine's House this weekend. Soaking in rays and smelling salt air. Dipping toes and splashing.
And while there's throwing sand and stern looks and voices now and then, it's mostly about the love. There's something incredibly special about the beaches up here. Yes, we do the beach thing once or twice a week every week. But there's something about Maine. Something about the air and the sand. It's different. The rocks tell stories that only Maine rocks can. Toes get tickled in a kind, silly way, and siblings share moments of laughter instead of pushing and craziness.
My heart is melting every other second. Because of my kids. And my husband. And his parents. And life. It's good, you know? The love.
And the pizza. The long awaited for annual visit to Bill's Pizza. It always makes a certain someone I know very happy...
We eat a lot when we're here. Pizza and ice cream and... pier fries. Which makes another person I know very happy {he might have carried an entire box around for the duration of our visit to Old Orchard Beach this evening... swatting hands that tried to sneak a fry or two... including his Papa's... maybe... }
Anyway. Back to the love and the melting. Because it's good. I've caught myself getting all teary when the kids are enjoying things {you do that too, right?} Especially with Fynn. Because he's... Fynn... and he's three... and he has a lot of dislikes right now. So his smile tonight, oh my. Filled me with love. I let it in several times tonight.
And I think I get overly emotional because sometimes I don't think I deserve them. Or that someone else could be a better mother to them. But that's just not true. We belong together, these kids and me and Lucas. They're mine. And I'm so grateful and thankful and oh my word... they're freaking adorable, aren't they?
When my kids look back at this space {because I hope they will. I hope they see this and learn about them and about me and about us. But that's another post... } I want them to see the good and the bad. The real. And all this good stuff? It's real. And it's here. Sometimes I forget that. So maybe this is for me as well. To revisit on those cold dark winter days when letting in anything other than a cold draft seems impossible.
This post could go on forever. But I'll stop... because I need to get my tired butt to bed. We have another full day of lovin' tomorrow. Hope everyone enjoys this 4th of July weekend, and let's a little extra love in... it's not a bad thing. Listen to Ingrid. Love really does heal, among other things ;)
Happy is the heart that still feels pain,
Darkness drains and light will come again.
Swing open up your chest and let it in,
Just let the love, love, love begin.
Everybody knows the love
Everybody holds the love,
Everybody folds for love.
Everybody feels the love,
Everybody steals the love,
Everybody heals with love.
~Ingrid Michaelson, Everybody