Shiny Happy People

The birthday girl and her lovely daughters

What a difference a day makes, and it doesn't hurt at all when that day is a day off from school and work.

Ahhhh, the luxury of sleeping in myself -- I didn't see the time on the clock until 7:45am and after that I stayed in bed and read The New Yorker -- and not having to wake me kids up and get them out the door to school. I think we all really needed a day off.

We had some excitement, too, starting last night when we had our favorite newly 36-year-old Mom over for a belated birthday dinner. My daughter loves nothing more than to bake and decorate cakes, so she was all over helping me prepare for the celebration.

It's so much fun to see my kids with my friend's baby. They love to make her smile and laugh, and I love seeing them in that capacity. I always thought I'd have another baby but now it looks more likely that I won't, which just makes our time with my friend's baby that much more special.

My shiny happy kids and their muse (who's often in motion!)

Contemplating the shift in mood today, this REM song came to mind:

Shiny happy people laughing

Meet me in the crowd, people, people
Throw your love around, love me, love me
Take it into town, happy, happy
Put it in the ground where the flowers grow
Gold and silver shine

Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing

Everyone around, love them, love them
Put it in your hands, take it, take it
There's no time to cry, happy, happy
Put it in your heart where tomorrow shines
Gold and silver shine

Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing

Whoa, here we go

The other excitement we had came later today -- this time in the form of smoke filling part of the house. It was bizarre because it was mostly coming out of the fireplace we don't use. We eventually figured out that the ashes from the fireplace we used last night and the ashes of the other fireplace go to the same spot. My daughter had raked what must've been still-smoldering coals down the little chute, and it turned out that all kinds of things were in the soot-collection area, including newspapers.

Somewhat miraculously, my kids, who'd had their moments of not getting along on their day off, totally bonded over shoveling all of the soot out and dumping it outside on the compost pile, turning it into a fun evening. We ate dinner on the floor of my bedroom because it was both smoky and freezing cold in the dining room's half of the house, and I gave thanks, once again, for a joyful, peaceful evening with my kids.