Soaking Up Experiences

One thing I know about writing is that to be a writer, you have to live. You have to do things, notice things, and think about things in order to have something to say. This is one reason I love summer. I'm outside a ton more than usual; I'm with my kids a ton more than usual; and so I keep tucking away things to write about all summer long. Yesterday was no exception...

It was really hot , so we decided to go to the pool with my sister and my nephew. #1 son swims like a fish and loves having my nephew to do "boy stuff" with. This frees up the girls to putter around at their own speed near me. I just leaned back and soaked in that cool water. It was such relief from the heat. About an hour and a half into our stay, #1 son appeared next to me with a horrified look on his face. "What?" I asked with a sinking feeling in my stomach. He just opened his mouth and stared, unsure if he should cry or not. His new front tooth stared at me, the one that we waited for 18 months to come in because he knocked out the baby tooth on day care's wall and another child's head. A chunk was missing. Right down in the corner, a whole piece, gone. "Are you OK?" I asked, but thinking, "Don't panic. He's fine and you'll upset him if you make a big deal out of this." Then a flood of tears and his six-year-old body crumpling into mine.

Today I'll call the dentist and see what can be done. Hopefully some bonding or filing or something fairly minor.

So, while I soak in life, my brain filling with stories to write later on, I'm wondering how many stories my son's body will hold by the time he's grown... a scar here, a chipped tooth there, his own personal notebook of sorts. Everyone has their own way, I guess.

I hope you too are soaking in life in all the best, safest possible ways.

Happy Monday!

Ms. Hagen