New Eyes

This weekend, Taylor and I had almost three entire days together. Daddy was in New Jersey for work, so it was just me and Taylor. Daycare closed down at noon on Friday due to Hurricane Hanna, so we spent the afternoon together coloring, running, climbing and, well, anything she wanted to do. Thankfully, contrary to predictions by all major media outlets, the storm didn’t do much at all. It hit in the middle of the night and we lost power for just a split second; Taylor slept through the entire thing. In the morning, I surveyed the damage. There were a bunch of limbs in the street, some standing water, and our palm trees looked like they rode down the highway in a convertible. Unfortunately, two of our plants were injured in the storm, one of which was our very-special sunflower tree that Taylor gave to me for Mother’s Day. It was completely uprooted. I haven’t broken the news to Tay yet and I don’t plan to. Hopefully, we can re-plant and she’ll never know. Until then, we are avoiding the front yard at all costs so that the tree tragedy remains a secret.

On Saturday, we did our usual chores, and then played and played and played. That evening, we headed over to Mike and Lou's house, who just moved into our neighborhood, for pizza and brownies. Taylor loved every minute of it. She had Reese to play with, several new electronics to screw up, bunnies to watch in the backyard and lots of pizza to eat.

"It's OK, Reese, sit like this and you'll be just fine..."

On Sunday, we headed to church and then spent the afternoon...you guessed it, playing and playing and playing. It was awesome -- the first time that I have really dedicated three full days to Taylor. Just Taylor and doing what Taylor wanted to do. It’s amazing what “life changes” (that’s what we'll call them for the sake of saving tears at the moment) will do to your priorities. As a parent to a toddler, I’m often tested, frustrated and stressed. But, these days, I see everything in a new perspective. I now cherish every single moment with Taylor more than ever. Yeah, she still has her moments, but you know what? They’re not as bad anymore. She is amazing. A miracle. Such a joy to be around. The most loving little thing in my life. And every minute with her is so special. Even when she's in "a mood", she's still the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. The experience of losing Poppy has taught me to have new eyes for those pulling-your-hair-out-toddler-moments, and love every single second that I have with Taylor. Yes, I was absolutely whooped by the time she went to bed each night, but I felt so fulfilled. So loved. So needed. And so blessed to have this wonderful little girl. Thank you, Lord, for this miracle of mine!

Sure is hard to see...