A cup of coffee, Mama?

When the brilliant rays of the sun pierced the crinkled eyelids, 
as the merry chirps slowly filtered into the consciousness,
feeling the warmth of the morning sweeping away the dawn chill,
I leaped out of bed, head teeming with a million possibilities for the day.

That was then. Decades ago. When summer vacation days were completely unscheduled, no expectations, no demands. They were also predictably hot tropical days, with a possible cooling off around late afternoons near the beach, when the trees truly offered the ten-degrees-cooler shade to allow for outdoor play.

While the luxury of summer holidays is not in my life anymore, I do hope for a simpler life for the kids over the next few months: no-rush mornings, stay-up-a-little-later evenings, play-as-much-as-you-want days, no rigid schedule but hopefully some semblance of structure...

With the sun being so elusive in these parts, there is no guarantee that we'll wake up to a warm and bright morning or finish the day with a glorious sunset. So, we take what we can get, ready to seize a blazing day by heading out for some water play, or just hanging out in the backyard with picnic dinners topped off with garden-fresh raspberries and currants for dessert, ignoring the giant raindrops and the overcast sky, reaching for that extra layer knowing we can peel it off any time now...

As the season unfolds, it is possible that berries get picked by us from nearby farms, parks get  explored with gusto, fresh perspectives gained, rare interests cultivated, new skills acquired and old skills honed...

Meanwhile, I am grateful for the musical words I hear most mornings, "Want a cup of coffee, Mama?" and await the hot cup of (decaf) Joe with just a drop of soy milk, perfectly done, and handed to me as I linger on the sofa before starting my slightly-slower day, pretending not to hear the oh-so-lofty plans from the wee bairn...