Days Like This

Have you ever had a day go by so effortlessly and full of so much goodness that when you slide under the covers that night you drift off to sleep with a big smile on your face, replaying the day over in your mind? That was my weekend, from start to finish.
We didn’t go anywhere exciting or visit with any special friends…it was just us, at home, working together and doing what we love: making stuff.

Levi turns his drawings into paper airplanes. He named the one on the right, “The Eiffel Tower of Love”…because of all the “X’s and O’s”

I’m so lucky to be married to a man who shares my passion for making and creating things. Not only that, but he can take apart, fix and reinstall just about anything you hand to him. His brain is a crazy and complicated space full of wacky potential and colorful visions, technical data and curious wonder. And he owns just about every kind of tool you could imagine, which allows us to explore many different territories of creation with full abandonment and ease.

Calvin finished his first sewing project. “It’s a castle.”

We woke up this Saturday and after breakfast, we all sort of just migrated into the studio. This tends to happen quite a bit, but what was different about this weekend and what made it so special was that we all worked together in humming harmony. The boys were not competing for either of our attention, we all had our own projects to work on and we did so happily and productively. When the boys needed to switch gears and change it up, so did we and we just kept flowing in and out of the day in this rhythmic way.

One of the (many) special things that Michael does with the boys is make balsa wood airplanes. These are not made from a kit you buy at the hobby shop…no, no! Most of the time, he draws out a pattern or design that he has in mind and intricately cuts and glues tiny strips of balsa wood together, lining the skeleton of the plane with delicate tissue paper. Levi is at an age where he can help  out in the designing phase and do some of the cutting and gluing. Michael has taught him a lot about aerodynamics and they talk about dihedral and lift, elevators and wing span. (Calvin however is happiest flying and chasing after them.) They make up funny names for the planes based on their color scheme…like “The Broccoli” or “The Mac n’ Cheese”. It’s created such a wonderful father-son bond between them and it’s so endearing to watch it flourish.  This weekend they finished up a few flyers and we brought them over to the park to let off.

Michael and the boys made a “crafty clock.”

By the end of the weekend, the studio was totally destroyed (in a good way) from all of us sharing its space and our collective exploding creativity.  There was much cutting and gluing, hammering and sewing…bits of paper, string and fabric were strewn all over the floor. The house was a wreck from us completely avoiding the chores (who wants to do chores, anyways??), but there was always music playing, food to munch on and wine to be sipped. Every once in a while, Michael and I would just look at each other with a satisfied twinkle in our eyes that said, “this is our life and I’m so happy for it.”

And on top of it all, Calvin decided to learn how to ride a pedal bike. No need for training wheels with this kid…he has a big brother to keep up with. He jumped on Levi’s old bike and started to ride it like a pro. There was a lot of hooting and hollering and shouts of joyful glee in the middle of our street. We had to pry him off the bike to come in by bedtime.

Great days like these come and go. What I want to remember the most is not specifically what we did or where we were, but the feeling of them. The feeling of great satisfaction and connection that we have to each other and the memories we are making as a family. I hope the boys will carry them in their hearts forever and will look back on their childhood with joy and smile. “Remember flying planes at the park with Dad?”…