A Drive with Aiden::February 6

Josh has had Aiden since Monday, and since Josh is living with us, I have been with Aiden since Monday too :) minus the time that he hangs out with friends...

But I haven't had him all to myself.

Since Josh's time is limited with him, I try not to infringe. But when he mentioned that he needed to get a haircut and get his oil changed, I snatched up the chance to spend a little one on one time with him, so he went with me to take Jared to the dentist.

After dropping Jared off, Aiden and I went and drove around the pond.

We saw some workers in boats, hooking up and moving the floating lights that had lit up the pond since before Christmas.

Then guys in bucket trucks took the light off the floating frame,

leaving the skeleton of the frame to be moved by a dump truck pushing them all to the side of the road.

I think that I was more impressed with the process than Aiden was, but I think he liked seeing the big trucks and the boat, anyway.

Then we drove around a saw some ducks on the water,


and a cat sitting on a garbage can. I told Aiden that if I was a cat, I'd sit on a garbage can too because it is probably a lot warmer than anywhere else he could sit. And because he is 3, and because he understand things, I think he thought he'd like to sit on the garbage can if he was a cat too.

(I love the peep hole that some kids must have made when they built a fort in the snow. :)

At the other end of the pond, we saw a guy getting ready to go fishing. Most of the ducks on the pond saw too and are hopeful for a handout.

Then we drove the back-country roads on our way to get some lunch. This barn with a tractor, the thawed-out brook, and the blanket of snow with the brown weeds pushing through caught my eye. Life is so beautiful!

And for some reason it was at this point in our trip that I was so filled with love for Aiden, for the land, and for life, that my mind started singing the song, "I Love" by Tom T Hall. And my mind drifted to my dad, whom I also love.

This song has always reminded me of him ever since I was a little girl. I don't know why... I don't know if I was with him when I heard it one time, or if he has ever told me whether or not he likes it, but the simple, sweet song about things that warm the heart has always stuck with me as a song that reminds me of my dad.




And then, because I was completely at peace, I noticed another sign of harmony in the world:


Ebony and Ivory and Coke and Pepsi - we can all live together peacefully in the world.

There were other things in the day that weren't so peaceful and didn't leave me with love and harmony in my soul, but it is so nice when for an hour or two life can be just this good.