A Perfect Summer Day

This summer has been a tough one for Joshua and his Mama. Top 5 things that Joshua has been up to that has driven his mom crazy are:

1. So much crying for apparent reasons and no apparent reason

2. Eating lots of non-food items like rubber stamps, video tape (see previous post), toilet paper, entire pages of beloved books. He has also gotten into eating pseudo-food items that are still completely inappropriate like previously chewed gum that has been stuck to the side of a public garbage can. I'm not kidding.

3. Demanding random videos that I rented from the library many months ago. He would ask for them over and over again for hours. "Want Baby Galileo. Want Baby Galileo. Want Baby Galileo"

4. Pouring liquids into strange places (like my coffee into his toy boxes in his room). Pouring water onto floors, etc.

5. Intentionally peeing on the floor (or onto piles of clothes) in his room. This one made me the most crazy. One time he peed on a TV/VCR that was on. He could have electrocuted himself! We were way beyond this in his potty training journey but suddenly, he went way backward with this behavior.

So, yes. Difficult summer.

But I have to tell you about one day that was wonderful.

A few weeks ago, we were at a friend's cabin in the mountains for a week. One day, we rented a boat and spent the good part of a day on a lake. We explored various places around the lake, went hiking, and soaked up the glorious sun.

Of course, I was worried about how Josh would be. There's not really many places to escape if he's having a hard time on a boat. But Josh loved it. The hum and vibrations of the motor, the sound of the water, the slightly cool breeze; these things were pure sensory pleasure for Josh.

A friend, the dad of the other family who was with us, decided that this was the day to introduce Josh to hiking. Josh did shockingly well with it. We couldn't believe how hard he worked to climb up rocks and walk up hills. Josh even jumped off of a rock into the lake (with some help). He swam. He ate watermelon quietly. He even told me when he needed to go to the bathroom.

And, as everyone knows, if Josh is happy, Mom is happy. I was so happy. How I want this kid to be happy. . . from the bottom of my soul. I know that I can't control this. I have little power to make this happen. But when it does, it's so wonderful. A professor of mine once told me that "a shared joy is a double joy". I want to share with the world about one perfect summer day!