Life is good. I feel really happy. I love being a nanny. I love that I get to watch the sunset with my girls every day instead of being trapped inside from noon to nine. I love that I get asked questions like "are fairies real?" and that we have dance parties. They love my crazy dancing. And I'm taking them to swim every week. I missed being in the water. I taught swimming lessons all through high school and it's one of the things I'm best at. Not to boast, but I am also really good at reading aloud, and we do a lot of that. Most of all, I love that there are so many moments in my day that I appreciate.
And I love that I get weekends off.
Today was our first soccer practice of the season and it feels amazing to be playing again. I am always so pleasantly surprised by how playing again after not playing for awhile makes me feel so happy and alive. It was a glorious day in Golden Gate Park, and it made me appreciative once again of being a Californian. Marina drove me to practice and sat in the sun while we played, and then we went out to sushi for lunch, followed by pedicures. I walked barefoot through the park to get to the de Young, so not to mess up my toes. I felt like a kid, and it felt good. The ground was freezing in the shade, reminding me that it's February. The Girl with a Pearl Earring was sold out, but we did get to see my handsome husband, working his second to last day. Tomorrow is his last, and then we get to have weekends off together, for the first time ever. It feels momentous. Like the beginning of our lives as real people. I can't believe he has been working 6-7 days a week since August. What a champion.
Tomorrow I have a photo shoot with a beautiful family that I met at the girls' Karate class. Toehead curls, freckled noses, and long eyelashes, 3 1/2 year old sister, 5 year old brother. I am stoked to have have found something that I love doing so much that I will get out of bed early for, on a Sunday morning, for free. I am building my portfolio and I know it will take time. I am patient. It feels right.
On Tuesday my parents arrive for a few days. So dinners with them, which is exciting. There are a lot of upcoming things I'm looking forward to, which is the best feeling. For a long time it felt like we were just trying to get through things, and I can endure a lot, for a long time. Now, for the first time in ten years, we are living.