Writing today’s post reminded me that sometimes the day is about how real life takes precedence over what I write here. As the day came to a close, my oldest asked me if my post was up (as she tends to do each day), and I told her it was not. I went on to explain that the day had not gone the way I’d planned for it to go in my head when I woke up this morning. You see, I look forward to Fridays because in our house, it’s like Saturday; because my husband works at a church and is at services on Sunday mornings, he and the rest of the staff have Friday and Saturday off as their weekends. Starting Thursday afternoon, after my 17 year old’s counseling appointment and when we have gotten back home, my sense of anticipation begins to grow. Late Thursday afternoon and Fridays are my favorite parts of the week because there tend to be no have tos.
That wasn’t the case this week, so the visions I had of myself doing some much-needed chores around the house and then spending time doing some writing. The day looked a lot different from that picture in my mind, but, in the end, that was okay. In fact, it was more than okay. As I told my girl, some days I prefer spending time with her and her sister more than writing about them. I told her this even as we were preparing to settle into watching Bohemian Rhapsody, the Freddie Mercury and Queen biopic, for the 7th, 8th, or 27th time.
One of the things about my oldest girl is her immediate need to apologize, and she launched into that when I told her I hadn’t gotten to the writing. But as I recapped our day and my delight with the various times I got to share with her and with her sister, she seemed to relax into the idea that real life matters to me more than the words I use to describe our real-life escapades. She and I had headed off on an unanticipated trip back to her counselor’s office because my girl had accidentally left her ear buds behind yesterday. I was actually more than delighted to head out because I was relieved to know they didn’t get lost in the parking lot and she would have them in hand sooner rather than later. The drive on a Friday morning was smoother than other days, and we had good music on the radio to enjoy.
Squeezed into the day was also an at-home appointment for my younger teenager, and I opted to break out the vacuum cleaner and pass it over the carpet in her room, which inspired a goal for her to work on with her OT. So far, so good, this real life of my Friday. After some one-on-one time with her OT, we all collectively came together to discuss strategies for implementing some strategies for things like clearing things out of my girl’s room and some other weekly planning things. My girl picked out some printable calendar sheets, we got them printed out, and finished up with a plan for when we see the OT next week.
A little while later, my oldest asked if it might be possible for us to go on a drive and take advantage of the sunshine. Given that she and I drove home in a torrential downpour the afternoon before, I was all in on this idea. Because my husband was headed out to band rehearsal with friends, we three girls piled into the car, each of them with their iPad and headphones and we headed off into the beautiful afternoon. It may seem strange that I enjoy pretty much acting like a chauffeur to my teens as they sit wrapped in their own music, windows down and the day flowing around us, but I really, really do. We chat occasionally, and when we aren’t chatting, I tend to use the quiet drive and beautiful scenery as an opportunity to pray. I also revel in their joy, a small gift I am able to provide them on a Friday afternoon.
The rest of the night was getting dinner on the table and then—my idea—watching Bohemian Rhapsody. I headed out for a quick walk only to discover that despite the shining of the sun, it was sprinkling so after only a part of my walk, I paused to help my younger girl find the better umbrella so she could stay outside. As we were talking about the rain, I told her she should be on the lookout for a rainbow. When she asked me where to look, lo, I glanced over her head, saw one in the sky already, smiled widely and pointed, “Probably right there.” Eventually all three of us admired the beauty in the sky, the rain became too hard, and we three headed inside to start our movie.
Honestly, it was a fantastic day that filled me to overflowing with pure delight over and over again. As I watched the movie and listened to the lyrics of the title song, Bohemian Rhapsody, I couldn’t help but smile because they seemed to speak to me, echoing my thoughts that had inspired my words to my oldest earlier. If you’re not familiar with the song:
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality
Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see
This is my real life and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. And I will definitely choose real life with my girls—taking a drive, being out in the rain, looking up to the skies at a rainbow—over writing about life with them. After all, why wouldn’t I want to spend time with these two incredibly remarkable young women. They make the real life for this mama a joy.