When the Moon is in the Seventh House...

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.  ~ Buddha 

Joy has found me.  Silly me, I hadn't realized I was hiding, but this week, joy found me.  And I have to say, it's been a really WEIRD feeling.  A feeling like...well, like the moon is in the seventh sun, and Jupiter has aligned with Mars.  Yes, once again I have dated myself.  But it fits.

We spent Father's day at my ILs cabin.  The husband had to do a volunteer shift at the annual Father's Day softball tournament (who schedules softball tournaments on Father's Day weekend?) but I had everything ready, the boat just needed to be hooked up and we were on our way.  The down side...we hit construction traffic which took us longer than expected.  By time we arrived, it looked like we were in for a pretty good storm.  Within an hour, the clouds had burned off and it was BEAUTIFUL.

The kids played, they took walks, they tubed...they acted like kids.  All of them.  We wrapped beef tenderloin in bacon and made Father's Day dinner a day early.  BIL, fresh off his Grandma's Marathon run, cooked the steaks to perfection for all...no small feat since all wanted their steaks done to varying degrees of doneness: medium well to stick a fork in it and listen to it moo.

Sunday I got up and walked around the lake.  It was perfect but when I arrived back at the cabin, it had clouded over.  It took about an hour before it burned off and the rest of the day was stunning! 

The kids set up an obstacle course in the yard and timed each other.  No small accomplishment given that the yard is only about 40 feet wide.  And there were 10 kids.  But they made it work.  My youngest got up on skis for the first time.  The rest of the kids either skied or  tubed.  We all went for a pontoon ride.  It really was perfect.

Then it hit me.  Why it was so perfect.  My children, who usually by this point in the summer, are whining and picking on each other, WEREN'T.  No, it went beyond that.  They were actually interacting without conflict.  It was a sight to behold.  AND it didn't end with the weekend.  It has continued through this week.  And each time I catch them being kind to one another, I call attention to it, expressing my JOY at seeing them behave in such a manner with each other.

Today, I mowed.  Halfway though my mowing all 4 kids ran out into the yard.  I slowed only to watch them, to see if blood would be drawn.  I have no idea what exactly happened, for I chose not to interfere, but as near as I could tell, they were interacting in  a positive way.  Yes, I hesitate to say "playing" because I think my son would take issue, but I do believe that is what they were doing.  And it warmed my heart.

I drove my son to the ILs house so he could mow.  On a whim I ran to Marshalls and did what I always do.  I looked through the swimsuits.  Did I mention I hate swimsuit shopping?  No?  Well, I do.  But I found a swimsuit that caught my eye.  I picked it up and looked at it wondering if I could fit into it as it was a size smaller than I usually wear.  I put it back thinking no.  Then as I saw someone else begin their own swimsuit search, I decided to take another look at it.  I decided I'd buy it and if it didn't work I'd bring it back.  I drove back to  the ILs and tried it on and was pleasantly surprised that it did in fact fit.  Planets aligning?  Gotta be.

I got home and walked into what I expected to be a messy kitchen, hoping that my kids would have cleaned it up, and lo and behold...they HAD.  On their own without any prompting.
Then later, my oldest was getting ready for volleyball and asked for assistance from her sisters and they JUMPED to help. 

Don't get me wrong...things haven't been ALL rainbows and unicorns, but given the change in the past 2 weeks, I'll enthusiastically take what I've been offered.  Maybe...just maybe, a summer without rancor.  A summer without bickering.  A summer we can all enjoy.

I believe the old adage, if momma ain't happy, then nobody's happy, holds true in reverse....If momma is happy, she'll do her damnedest to make sure EVERYONE is happy too.