This is Heaven to no one else but me...

A few things to note:

1. Four blocks from our house my daughter announced that she had just had an accident in her car seat and I cannot figure out how to get the liner out to clean it.

2. Exactly 48 hours ago my husband and I decided to turn our house completely around and swap all bedrooms and offices and TV rooms (and build a couple walls and paint - you know, the usual thing people decide to do on a whim). The house is a complete mess and we are now sharing a room with our kids.

3. I cannot do any more laundry until I get a new lint trap and I may be moving on to swimsuit underwear soon!

4. I have a sore throat and a slight fever and I am not feeling like my usual self.

5. Every one of my sons diapers in the last 24 hours have been poopy.

6. My husband left yesterday for an out-of-town job, so I am doing everything by myself for at least a week until he returns.

And then there I was on the swing today with my little Abe. My butt was wet from the fabric swing. I got slight wiffs of Abe's freshly poopy diaper. And all I could think about was how happy I am. How wonderful that moment was. He was sleepy and tired from playing in the mud so he happily snuggled up to me and we swung. The weather was beautiful. The sun was warming us. His hair was soft on my face. I sang quietly to him and he leaned his ear to my mouth to enjoy this too. 

There was a time long ago when I had some boyfriend troubles and I rode my bike a few miles to a park and got on the swings and blasted the Sarah McLachlan song "Elsewhere"on my Discman over and over again. I kept swinging and singing and playing that song, and I after a while I felt such joy. Like I could really see how blessed I was in the things that mattered, and that the rest was not worth worrying about.

That song and that feeling of joy come back to me sometimes. Times like today when I felt pure bliss to be in that spot, in that moment, with my Abe. Singing. "I believe, this is Heaven to no one else but me, and I'll defend it long as I can be, left here to linger in silence if I choose to would you try to understand..."

Just so as I always leave an image with a post (I am a photographer after all!), I will include two here. One from today with the kids, and one from a little bit ago of my Abe, who, after a morning of swimming just couldn't stay awake long enough to make it to bed for a nap...