SAY YES!

"Marry me?".....No!

"Marry me?"....No!

"Marry me?".....No!

I've said no to bad ideas.

Last night the kids asked with bright eyes, eyebrows up, voices slightly raised to that pitch of excitement just short of shouting, "mom can we ride to the grocery in the morning to get donuts?" 

...pause...thinking: get up 30 minutes early, drag the bikes out, carry the bag, spend the money, fuel the sugar rush, another set of dirty laundry, bike wrecks, knee scrapes, hassle, hassle, hassle...."YES! great idea!" 

Sometimes, often maybe, it's good to say YES! especially to good ideas. (Yes, you can dig for worms. Yes, we can make glitter everything. Yes, you can look for spiderman costumes online. Yes, you can climb the tree. Yes, you can take our only loaf of bread to feed the fish in the pond---the fish do in fact eat bread in the pond.  Yes, you can hold the cat. Yes, you can get your feet wet in the fake waterfall.) 

Alarm at 545 (good god what was i thinking?) roll out of bed. "wake up kiddos. time to get donuts."  like kittens unfolding, they stretch, yawn, throw on sweatshirts, tennis shoes, and fall in line sleepy eyed. 

it is still dark outside. "twas the lark and not the nightingale" serenading us through the iron gate from the yard to the sidewalk.

Checking out, Leif to cashier "we rode our bikes here!" Cashier clearly hasn't read any zen books, or had coffee, or enjoyed life in years, poor dear. (also, slightly annoying dear, killjoy...)---"you rode in the dark? that's dangerous. why would you ride bikes in the dark?"  Me, sort of smiling (still hadn't had my morning coffee or read any zen books either), hoping to eradicate the nonsense from my children's ears "there is noone out yet. noone. and by the time we step outside, rosy fingered dawn will greet us."  (p.s. rosy fingered dawn will greet us is a phrase better written than spoken if one is hoping to actually engage in a conversation)

Riding home, Ava exclaims "the sky! mom, look at the pink strips so bright in the sky!" pointing to the east. "the sunset is so pretty" "isn't the sunrise pretty, doll."  

YES! it was good to say YES today. 

Another question from another source that required an answer "Will you at least try?"  Good idea. Yes, I will try.  And maybe I'll be awake when dawn unfolds all its layers of magical sensory charms.

try it