My kids were nice to each other twice this weekend. I saw it and didn't believe it. I stalked them a bit (carefully, slowly, quietly around the perimeter of their play zone), and left the house without comment. I kept this secret to myself and kind of marinated in it. I finally burst at coffee with some friends. "My kids....they were playing together! With joy! Like they were having fun! Together! I.....I don't know what to say. It was just so....wild and crazy and...do you think it will happen again?"
No one knew what to say because these dear friends have kids who actively like each other.
Later in the weekend, my daughter expressed her disbelief. "Mom, in the middle of playing with Thing 2, I just...couldn't believe it. I almost stopped because it was just so....wild."
The magic continued when the entire family went on a hike and there was minimal grousing. Actual fun transpired. No one complained and two minutes into the hike, I witnessed skipping. Skipping! And a bit of humming and lots of pine cone gathering. Thing 2 stopped with a "Ta-dah!" and swept his arms out toward a view he found compelling. "It's not the look-out, but it's a look!"
Yes, there was an unusual mojo in our family this weekend. Like the 80 degree weather in October in Minnesota, I will hold on tightly to these glorious and fleeting moments before reality sets in.
You can imagine my joy when my eldest was being sweet and said to his youngest sister,"No I don't want you to get hurt, but I still hate you."
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