Living in moment and peering into the future

Our little family ventured out to the park last night.

It looks like that is becoming the norm for us, and I love it. For a couple of reasons: 1. It gets us out of the house. My little guy is starting to get reeeeeeally squirrely at home -- getting into all kinds of trouble. So the more we're out of the house, the better. 2. Each time we pay the mortgage, we're reminded of just how much money we're paying in taxes. Like, we could probably rent an apartment on what we spend on taxes.

So in our "bang for the buck" gusto, we're taking full advantage of county services. Hello parks and libraries!

The park was packed out when we arrived. It made us a little leery since, well, we don't like people too much, but it made my boy one happy little social butterfly.

That makes us sound like real gems of people, not liking people and all. It's not really like that -- we just don't like large groups of people because there's always a dumb one in the mix who ruins things for everyone.

And we're old and crotchety.

Anyway, Cohen was in Heaven. He was so interested in the t ball game going on next to the playground that for a good 5 minutes we just stood there. Watching little boys in grass-stained uniforms chase balls around the outfield while their parents screamed out unintelligible things from the bleachers.

It was my life 4 years from now. I'm not going to lie, I got some warm fuzzies.



Cohen watching all the excitement

When we finally managed to tear ourselves from the thrills, we headed for the swings. It hit me yesterday just how much Cohen has grown in the past few weeks. The baby is fading fast-- he's becoming such a little boy.

A little boy who loves his dada.

Still watching the game.

And has a really great one to model himself after. And his dada is pretty fond of him, too.

I know I've said this so much it's annoying, but it is so much fun watching him grow and learn. He is independent and determined. Don't tell him he can't do something. Unless, of course, you like to eat your words.

He's daring and head-strong.

And he's funny. I didn't think it was possible for a 10 month old to be a comedian, but he is.

And seeing these qualities emerge from him now only makes me imagine who he'll be a year, 2 years, 3 years from now. It gives me a glimpse of the kind of boy he'll grow into.

And that excites me.

I recognize, though, that we've got a lot of living and loving to do now. So I'm going to try to tear my eyes off of the future so I don't miss all the great things happening now. I'm going to enjoy my son. I just wish I could tell him that in a way he'd understand.

Don't look to the future too much, little guy. I love you so much the way you are right now.