Body snatchers got my kid

Disclaimer: Please excuse the plethora of exclamation marks in today's entry. It's not often that any--let alone ALL--of these events occur, and I couldn't help myself.

I'm not sure exactly when, but sometime yesterday, aliens abducted my kid.

How do I know? Because my son usually comes home from school hungry and cranky. This new kid was not only happy, he actually brought in the trashcans without complaining, then helped me prepare dinner.

He fed the cats, asking just once for help. "Mom, can you open it for me?" he said, handing over this can:

He was all smiles and love when I saw his message, very proud of himself.

It went on this morning as well. A happy, laughing little boy jumped into bed and woke me up. That same boy was completely dressed and ready to go when I got out of the shower--not only was his bed made, he was eagerly making my bed!

And then we walked to school--together! He was not dragging 10 steps behind me, or running 15 ahead, like he usually does--he actually walked next to me, like respectable folks, carrying on a conversation.

I couldn't get over it all. He started skipping away once we hit the edge of the school, and I decided to push my luck.

"Bye, Mark!" I shouted to him, and suddenly, the skipping stopped. Now comes the grumpy part, I thought to myself, waiting for him to turn around and scowl at me.

Instead, he turned around, skipped back, and hugged me--in public! As other kids were walking past! And smiled! All this, from the boy who hates to acknowledge he even has a mother in front of his classmates--this boy smiled and very publicly embraced me.

And with that, he was gone. He skipped off to class, waving, and shouted, "Bye, Mom!" Then I picked myself up off the ground, and headed home, smiling the whole way.

I'm not sure when the aliens will return the real Mark, but I hope to keep this easygoing Mark at least a few more days.

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.