BECAUSE SMOOSHY HAPPENS

This is my "smooshy mood" entry. Yes, smooshy is my word for this particular mood. It is a time when I could easily laugh or cry, but always due to something or someone I perceive as loving.

 

Monday nite, my hubby was still out of town on a fishing trip. My son was working and then with friends to watch the NCAA Championship basketball game. It was girls' nite in the house. The daughter and I. For reasons that I will not go into here, my mind was fraught with memories. Some tender. Some sad.

 

The daughter and I camped out in the family room to watch THE game on the big television. It was nice being with her. Listening to her remarks. Answering her questions. The outcome of the game was never in doubt. Florida was clearly the better team. Hell, they define what teamwork is all about and what unselfish play is. There is a tremendously sexy player on their team...Joakim Noah. During this season, Joakim has experienced much negativity from various sources. He is an exuberant and vibrant force on the team. His father is the famous tennis player Yannick Noah; his mother is a former Miss Sweden, Cecilia Rodhe. I think he is gorgeous. 6' 11" of yumminess. And I love how he displays his emotions. Florida won the game. I watched as Joakim  worked his way up into the stands to reach his mother. The loving embrace they shared (as well as Joakim's obvious tears during the long hug) touched me.

 

And I cried. Wait. I sobbed. My daughter looked over at me, her mouth ajar. I could not stop crying. It had moved me so much. She asked why I was crying. And my voice was unexpectedly loud as I choked out a response, "Because that's what mothers are for. To give support and love and be there for their kids." She had a smile on her face and came over to me to give ME a hug. Yeah, I am sure she thought I had gone around the bend. I probably had during those minutes. 

 

My son's birthday was today. My one-time infant who is now a young man. That transformation happened when I turned my back for only an instant. I could go on and on about what an incredible kid he is. How his kindness, healthy self-confidence, work ethic, determination, and drive should be bottled and sold. The world could use more people like him.

 

As has been my tradition with both of my kids since their first birthdays, I wrote his annual birthday letter to tuck inside of his card. It is a journey backward for one year. A recording of the significant and maybe not-so-important events that took place since his previous birthday. The jottings about him as an individual. His qualities and characteristics. It takes me a long time to write. I tend to stop and reflect on each paragraph I write, making sure I have captured on paper what I want and need to say. He has come to look forward to these letters (which are saved). He genuinely absorbs my words and takes them to heart. That makes me feel wonderful...and smooshy.

 

I will be writing another one for my daughter in about two weeks when her birthday arrives. I suspect I will again experience the smooshiness I felt while writing her brother's letter.

 

Wedged in between their birthdays is my wedding anniversary. So many years together, but our wedding day is forever etched in my mind down to the finest of details. Another smooshy mood on the way.

 

I think maybe we all have occasions when this type of feeling prevails. We probably do not all express it in the same ways, but inside it is identical.

 

And it does us a world of good.

 

"I believe the greatest gift I can conceive of having from anyone is to be seen by them, heard by them, to be understood and touched by them." ~Virginia Satir

 

Run your fingers through my soul~