Enjoying Abby

I like my kid.

Now, I know at first that sounds like an odd way to begin a post, but let me explain.

I hope by this point it is clear that I love Abby deeply, but I admit there are many days when my focus is on the nitty-gritty of being her mom. I concentrate on what she'll have for dinner, when she'll need to get into the tub, how she worked at school, having everything ready for the next day, and so forth and so on - and these are only the days when we don't have somewhere to be. There are far too many days when I "manage" Abby, but don't "enjoy" her.

Because yesterday she only ate a baggie of pretzels and a half of banana, I wasn't sure how her tummy would handle a normal diet. Therefore we stayed home from school again today. The extra day gave me the opportunity to simply enjoy her company.

I enjoyed the way that she invited me to sit and color with her, and then proceeded to draw a lovely snowman. I enjoyed how her excitement at our first "real" snow matched mine. I enjoyed the fact that she decorated our Christmas tree with my measuring tape - rather appropriate, and convenient, since I won't have to go looking for it when I need it. I enjoyed the fact that her outfits of the day included a ballet dress with knee socks, a pretend bathing suit, and her "photo shoot" dress and black tights. I enjoyed when she wanted me to sing opera so that Bruiser would howl, and how we sang "Five Little Ducks" together. I enjoyed tonight when she wanted to tell secrets, and whispered to Jason, "Psst, psst, psst....I love you," but when she whispered to me she said, "Psst, psst, psst....open the presents."

Today I enjoyed my kid - and it was lovely.

Vet/Abby was ready for some serious Bruiser
surgery.

It's hard to hear, but Abby is singing "The 12 Days of 

Christmas" as she decorates the tree with my measuring tape.