Happily ever after...

Jimmy Buffett has this wonderful song where he sings, "I just want to live happily ever after, every now and then." I've always loved that song, and that sentiment--it's like, he's not demanding to be happy all the time, he's just hoping for those little moments of contentment, that feeling of happily ever after, if only ever so briefly.

I love those moments. I had one tonight--that moment when everything, for just one shining instant--was perfect in my world.

We went to dinner with Smed, Brandy and Johnny. There was a concert at the park, so we packed a picnic dinner and headed over. The band had already started, serenading us with big band melodies as we ate. Johnny, like any other self-respecting toddler, was more interested in the scenery than his dinner, so he hastened the end of the meal by ceremoniously tossing most of it off his tray. He let out a loud, guttural, grunting sound, and started shaking his tray, signaling that dinner time was OVER.

Brandy unbuckled him, and off he ran, Mommy and Daddy chasing after him. Mark stood and tossed his football to me, and I passed it back all wobbly. He thrust his hands in the air like, "What the heck??" and I just shrugged.

"I'm a writer, not a quarterback," I apologized, but he just rolled his eyes.

We tossed the ball back and forth, the sun hidden behind the massive trees, and setting behind him. The light was fading, the music filling the park, the boy completely engaged. He talked about his field trip that day, and coached me on throwing a football properly. He just looked so sweet and innocent--his face filthy from a busy day at camp; his favorite, too-big shorts falling off him; his Pokémon hat skewed slightly to the side. He grinned a big, happy grin, and from 10 feet away, I could still see the two glaring gaps waiting for his adult teeth to debut. He chastised me whenever I threw the ball short or bouncing away (which was a lot), but it didn't really matter. What mattered was that we were there, together, just hanging out, just...being.

That was it for me--I couldn't think of a better place to be, or a better person to be there with. That was my happily ever after.