Halloween Happiness

"Every day we all experience these moments of peace. The trick is to know when they are happening. So that we can embrace them. Live in them." -Derek Shepard

Today is Halloween. After countless hours of work this afternoon was our town's annual Halloween parade. For the fourth time we entered a float in the parade. And we won second place! After last years first place finish, you would think that I might be disappointed. But in fact, I have the greatest joy and am sitting on my couch this evening writing with a sense of bliss. Because today was the day that I realized that I have become who I wanted to be.

I love to write, I always have and always will. When I went off to college I was on a course set for a career in journalism. A lifetime of jetting off to wherever the story was with whatever hours that entailed. That was what I wanted with every fiber of my being. So I settled in to that journey. But halfway through my second semester I realized that there was something I wanted more. I wanted to be a mom.

My life changed drastically from that moment of clarity. I adjusted all of my life around that one fact. Because if there is one thing about me, it is that I never do anything half way. I try to excel at everything. And don't get me wrong, I don't think that I am the best mother ever. I make plenty of mistakes. Plenty. All of the time. But today was the moment I realized that the mom that I am far outweighs any of those mistakes.

I get pure and utter joy in trying to create the most amazing experiences for my children. For today's parade I made nineteen costumes by hand. We built a larger than life dog house. An amazing psychiatric booth. A piano and a pumpkin patch appeared. All because my children had a dream of a Charlie Brown Halloween. And I got to give them that. My third son got to shave his head 'because Charlie Brown's head is a circle', as he kept telling us. My second son got to play Linus to his favorite girl's Sally, awake all night in the pumpkin patch. Eli got to run around pretending he was a bird, waddling in his toddler way. And Seth got to ride down Main Street atop a dog house built just for him. High in the sky, just as he pictured it two years ago when we first started talking about this idea. They were surrounded by all of their friends that they got to invite to join in on their scheme.

It was perfection. All of it. Second place meant nothing. My three year old has no concept of that at all. As we got in the van to head home after he said to us "That was the greatest float ever! I had the bestest time!". I had won the hearts of my children. And I had fulfilled my destiny imagined so many years ago. Daddy D and I made dreams come true and memories that will forever be ingrained in the lives of children. There is unmistakable beauty and truth in that. And I can't wait to do it all again for whatever they dream up next. Because the best things in life aren't bought or purchased, they are labors of love made with your own two hands.

So for all my blog friends that I have ignored way too long amidst the float craziness, you have earned a ton of photos of today!

Congratulations to the first place float by the Kelly family and friends!