The Perfect Parenting Day

As I was getting ready for bed I began brushing my teeth, like an adult, and thought to myself, “Today was a pretty good day.” And, then I thought some more and I realized it was pretty much as close to perfect as they come.

Everyone woke up in a good mood.  No drama, no hangriness. I made myself and husband a real breakfast. I had enough food to pack my elder child’s lunch without even being in a hurry.  We left the house on time!

Since we were not in a fluster we had time to go to the donut shop near the school.  The kids even had time to sit down and eat.  There was no manic clock checking or, “hurry, hurry, hurry.”  It was relaxed.  We dropped off. There were hugs. There were smiles.  So far, a pretty perfect morning.

With only the little one we went for a walk in the woods, we built a birdhouse, we went to Target and had lunch at Panera. This was no normal lunch since we are on a Whole30.  This means we ate compliant salads with dressing from home (that I brought, just in case) while watching our little son drag his baguette through the thick creamy sauce of his mac n’ cheese.  I even let him watch YouTube Kids on my phone while my husband and I had an adult conversation. Scandalous!

We had a few minutes before school pickup so we went to the park and I spun my child around until he walked like a drunk monkey.

Somewhere in the midst of this, I had to deal with an unrelated scheduling mix up that was completely my fault, but it just worked and it was stress-free.  It would work or it wouldn’t. Nothing would fall from the sky.

Pickup was a breeze. The children were happy to see each other and us. We went by the house to change clothes for gymnastics and everyone just did it and off we went. We were on time to the afterschool activity and they both had a lot of fun.  From there it was home.

Another minor emergency – one of the cars having a recurring issue.  The husband was off to the auto parts store and since it was still lovely I pulled weeds.  I know, magical.

The car was fixed, dinner was cooked, the children were happy in their independent endeavors.  Everyone was fed and off to bed.  By the time I came to check on bedtime they were brushed and in bed with audiobooks waiting.

I even stayed up until one o’clock in the morning finishing a novel!

There was nothing extraordinary about this day in any way except the ways that matter.  We were kind, we were loving, we were content.  I can guarantee that someone’s worst day has occurred in the Happiest Place on Earth.  Where you are is not happiness.

I tend to get hung up on happiness. Are my kids happy? Are we happy? But what is happiness if it is not feeling loved and safe and fulfilled?  And, that is pretty perfect.