Right now it’s about 10 am on Monday

(which, my friend so perfectly said at our New Year’s Eve dinner table, “is the worst week of the day!”)

and I just sat down for the first time all morning.

As I walked into my house, I was greeted by a family friend who saw the stress on my face. She is from Colombia, and so I told her, in my now crappy Spanish, about this morning’s craziness (and by craziness, I mean that it was a hectic morning with two kids; I have perspective).

“Rebecca, tu es guapa.”

“Que?” I asked her. I thought that she was complimenting my wavy, blond locks, as I don’t often wear my hair down. I had always thought that “guapa” meant “pretty” like “bonita” or “linda”.

“Si, guapa.” And when I asked her to explain, I realized that she was giving me a term of endearment; she was implying that I have fortune and strength, and for that I feel very grateful.

And here, in a nutshell, are my past 24 hours. And I am sharing this for several reasons:

I am sharing this to express how I do feel very blessed.

I am sharing this so that you can read this during your crazy day and realize that you are not alone.

I am sharing this so I don’t have to tell this story to each of my parents, grandparents and best friends.

***

Yesterday morning was a lovely one. I slept in a bit, I woke up to the smell of freshly baking biscuits and even got to enjoy some real quality time with my parents.

We played as a family,

my husband had his custom made J.Hilburn suit delivered by Jill herself,

I had a great band practice and came home to have some alone time with my kids while my husband hit the driving range.

My son cuddled up next to me in my bed as we watched “Yo Gabba Gabba” together (and judge away, I don’t care, because as you may remember, this child would not watch TV for the first year+ of his life) and it felt good.

Until it didn’t,

as my son took the ice cold glass of water from the night table and dumped it all over me, my jean shorts and my comforter.

So,

I took my kids outside to play in the backyard and I was experiencing real joy as I watched them run around together, chasing one another like real kids. It was a beautiful early evening and this felt like a gift.

And then…

“Mom? Why is there a tree growing in the middle of our playhouse?”

And, just to be clear, this was the play house in which my son was playing/eating dirt.

 Ultimately, I found out that it was not, in fact, poison ivy, but, instead, ivy ivy, like the beautiful ivy that grows on the back of my old stone home.

So, there was that.

And then normal life stuff, like a 5:20 wake up this morning and the baby trying to touch my my prized physical possession and trying to get two kids ready for two completely different days at completely different camps. But I did accomplish something. Somewhat of a Crow Pose in yoga. I have not been able to exercise for some time now, so the ability to work my way back into this pose made me feel strong.

Stop right now. I recognize that in the scheme of complaints, this is NOTHING. I am fortunate that I have two kids who are able to go to camp. My morning was nothing more than my feeling harried.

But it did involve many, many, many trips up and down stairs to find things like sippy cups, towels, a plain white t-shirt, a lunch bag, jellies, matching socks, a Sharpie, a hair tie, a toilet and two equally full plastic bags of Corn Chex for the car.

Ultimately, we made it out the door, into the car and to camp and both of my kids walked in smiling.

That is something about which I feel so grateful. My son is adjusting to the separation and my daughter is a little celeb at her camp after her first month.

I had to pull over a few times on my ride home to do something quickly for work, check my calendar and send a text, as I simultaneously juggled a phone call with the same bestie who said the GENIUS quote above and my dad, who was in the process of booking this. And then I got the call that I had locked the family friend out of the house

and so I bring us back to the beginning of our story, which I started to type 2.5 hours ago and have finally gotten around to finishing.

Nothing that I did in the past 24 hours was extraordinary in any way. In fact, I had it very easy at times. I smiled a lot. But in the moment, it can feel like a lot. Almost like too much.

So when Marjorie called me “guapa” I took the compliment and I took it to heart, as I am very proud to be called someone who is strong and blessed.

For some people, the day that I described would be a cakewalk, but for me, it was one that I wouldn’t have been able to make it through just one year ago.

So I can celebrate the small victories (bespoke clothing, ivy ivy, a great “sound check”)

and maybe even feel a little,

just a little,

guapa.