Moments of Magic

I'm sure it happened when I was younger, more than I remember. Now that I have children of my own, I notice those moments that are amazing, beautiful in their own way, a lot more.

Last night held moments like that. A few of them. Earlier this week, my mom who is a elementary school teacher, calls and tells me that this group came and preformed at her school. She talked about how amazing it was to hear these kids from Kenya. Then she mentions that they will be performing here on Friday night between 7-9 PM.

So I suggest to the Rocket Scientist that this might be something fun to do with our children. I have this need for them to connect with their roots. He agrees and asks if we can have Rubio's for dinner since we will be in Salt Lake City. So we made the plan.

We go to dinner where planned. We ate out on the patio since it is a beautiful evening. I happen to then look at the Little Jamaican and realize, not only do her clothes not match, but her pants and underwear are on backwards. If this is not enough, I then look at her feet. She is wearing two right feet of "Dora" Airwalks. One hers and one of the Wild Child's. Of course I am horrified knowing that there are going to be people at the Gateway from Africa who are going to wonder a bit about us anyway, but really wonder about my abilities as a mother. Somehow I get over this and we proceed as planned.

Upon arriving at the Gateway we find that the concert is being held out doors over looking the Olympic Splash Pad. This a very informal type of concert being held outside at a mall. This is the perfect pace for four children ranging in age from 4 to 7. The African music is playing in the background and my children are now playing in the splash pad. For a few minutes, the whole world holds still for me. I realize all the little miracles that had to line up for these few precious moments to happen. I can for a split second, see how my children would be living in a country different than they do now. I can see how childhood holds so many keys to happiness. I can see getting surprised by water shooting out of the ground is one of life's true moments of glee. All of it together is like magic in my head. So much so, that I find myself a little overwhelmed with emotion.

Thirty minutes later, I realize I have four kids soaking wet and the sun is setting and didn't think to bring any towels. We live about an hour a way, so riding home wet, could be very uncomfortable. Thank goodness for Old Navy sales. Everybody got new sweat pants and t-shirts tonight. The whole family in a "family bathroom" is a sight to behold. Not to mention to hear. The guy waiting to use the bathroom when we were finished couldn't quit laughing. He thanked us for the parade as all six of us marched out after changing children's wet clothes.

My only regret for the night is that I forgot to take my camera. The Kodak moments were abounding.