Good, Better, Best

My favorite Sundays are the ones in which I go to church in the morning, have a nice lunch (either at home, church, or as a guest in someone's home), get a good nap, eat some popcorn for supper, and then spend the evening in the company of others, be that at another church service, by going visiting, or by having guests in our home.

Yes, these are the kind of Sundays which leave me tired and with a huge pile of laundry to show for them, and yet invigorated and encouraged about facing the week ahead.

Well, one of the first things you learn as an adult is that even though you are an adult and get to pick a lot of things a lot of the time, you cannot always pick your favorite things!

For instance, this morning I stayed home from church with the two youngest as Parker is under the weather with a possible case of hand, foot and mouth, and Wesley had to teach the adult Sunday school class, so he couldn't very well be the one to play nurse.

Staying home from church on a rainy morning didn't go down very well with me at first, even though I went to bed last evening planning this way. I suddenly had visions of being trapped in the house all day long, since a sick child also puts you out of the social circles for any evening plans, too, and then I carried my thoughts of gloom and doom into the coming week and...well, you get the picture!

It was at some point over my coffee and bowl of grape nuts that I was able to snap out of the worst of my mood and decide to make the most of my morning at home by baking some fresh French bread for lunch! Parker, who was feeling quite fine save for the sores in his mouth that make eating a bit unpleasant, pulled his chair up and, still clad in pajamas, helped run the mixer and dump ingredients! Somehow, between baking bread, reading some books to Parker, taking care of the baby, and getting those of us left at home dressed and ready for the day, it didn't seem long at all until the garage door was going up and the three church-goers were appearing! And as they bore with them several interesting envelopes from our church mailbox, the sight of them was even more appealing!

We worked to get lunch on the table, and I might say that it was especially delicious with my French bread hot from the oven added to Wesley's pork chops hot from the grill!

It was over the pile of lunch dishes that Wesley and I discussed the afternoon. The sun had appeared after several rainy days, and between that and my cooped-up morning, I was eager to get out, so we made plans to go "somewhere" for a walk or hike and a picnic. We knew we would want to leave sooner rather than later since it gets dark so early these days, so there went that nice favorite Sunday-afternoon nap for me!

Since I am not sure if its possible to have a picnic without something special for the sweet tooth, I made a pan of brownies, and they were still hot when we carried them out to the van along with the other varied and sundry things required for such a jaunt, no matter how short it may be!

Once we were all settled in the van, we decided to head over to Colonel Denning Sate Park for some exploring. Wesley and I are fond of state parks and growing more so as we see how family-friendly they are for camping and picnicking. Maybe in part because we live in town, and also because we all just need a change of scenery now and then, but I am finding that its important to give the children opportunities to romp around, explore, and get exercise in the great outdoors, and state parks are great for all of the above!

The weather was a bit overcast by the time we arrived at Colonel Denning, but we had time to walk around, admire a Heron (you can faintly see it on the picture of the spillway above), swat swarms of bugs, and for the children to go on a hike around the lake with Wesley while I walked around with the stroller on more manageable terrain, before rain drops began falling from the sky!

Colonel Denning has a lake- or at least is used to have a lake- but now it would be more appropriate to say that Colonel Denning has a rather large, rather unsightly mud hole! Thanks to the recent rain, there were several inlets and puddles, but the spillway was dry and it was all rather barren and sad! We thought maybe the lake was dry on account of the dry weather we've been having, but someone told Wesley that they drained the lake. Whatever the case, the signs that said "no swimming" and "no boating" were rather mute points!

Once it began raining, we went in search of a pavilion to shelter our picnic, but they all seemed rather dark, overshadowed as they were by the forest, so we ended up leaving the state park and driving to another park on the route home. It seemed that the rain hung over our van like Eeyore and his little rain cloud, for while we could see clearer skies ahead of us, no matter which direction we took, so went the rain, until at last, when we pulled into the park, there was pouring rain and sunshine at the same time! At least the advantage to this situation was that we got to see one huge arc of a rainbow, and that helped to end the daylight hours on a lovely note!

Finley, who had been asleep in his carseat from the time we left home until we reached the park, awaked to find himself quite famished, but once he was fed, he was back to his happy self again! I might just add here that he is such a delight! Already 11 weeks old today, he is growing chubby and is such a smiley little thing, that we are all quite charmed!

We ate our picnic supper in the pavilion, and since it featured popcorn and fresh brownies, we at least did justice to that part of my Sunday favorites! Parker's mouth sores have him acting pretty choosy about what he eats, and he skipped over the popcorn in favor of yogurt. Earlier, when we were packing the cooler, he had two yogurt containers and was making them into binoculars and antlers, so you can see that the "real Parker" has been largely unaffected by his illness, which is always encouraging for a mother to see!

The park where we had our supper has a horse coral next to it, and at one point the horses were having a fine time galloping and cavorting about, whereupon Parker wondered if we heard the cows running! Apparently this "animal confusion" is yet another reason to get the children out into the country now and then!

By the time our picnic supper was over, it was dark, and we piled into the van full of brownies and fresh air, ready to head for a comfortable, dry spot called home.

And so another Sunday passed, and in looking back, I realize again that our best days are not always popped from our favorite mold, but rather, from being willing to improvise and say "yes" to second best.

Or are these days second best?

Perhaps, in the great scheme of life, the things I view as "second best" actually end up claiming first prize.