To make me happy

I think I add too many frills to what my dream life looks like, "A nursery!" I cry, "All I want is to decorate a nursery!" or "Living in one place for a whole year!!" or "A J.Crew shopping spree! I'm pretty sure I have to have one to be happy!"

Yesterday afternoon I got a taste of what living my dream really is: The summer air was breezing through the patio as I painted; Ada Lou skipped about my feet with sidewalk chalk in one hand and an orange Creamy in the other. She'd make semi-circular drawings on the sidewalk while I painted. By extending her little arm, crouched in a squat while rotating her frame, she would drag the chalk in short curved lines, and when satisfied, move to a new spot to make a similar pattern.

It's what I've always told Mike that I've wanted: to make art, side-by-side, with my kids. And it happened. If only for a few brief moments, it happened.

And I realized how little I truly need to make me happy.