I'm a Hero

Not really but these two think I am.

Our knucklehead dog got stuck in some prickers in the woodsy part our neighbors yard, and was barking for me to find him. The only way to get to him was to go through the "forbidden zone" of our front yard. We have 2 areas on either side of our driveway that have a creek. One is the nicely landscaped creek and is very fun to play in. The other is swampy and yucky and poison ivy ridden, and no one goes there. Anyway, he was about 100 yards away completely stuck in a pricker bush. I got my long pants on and some old sneakers and set off to rescue him. I told the kids under no circumstance were they to follow me, and to stay on the side of the yard and wait for me. I got through the swampy mud and the poison ivy and the rest was fallen tree branches and tall weeds and grass. As I was carefully walking through the tall grass all I could think was that a snake just better not slither in my path or he would be truly sorry. I repeated over and over again "please don't let there be a snake, please don't let there be a snake". As I made my way to Gio, my kids started chanting "Go mommy go!; go mommy go!". It was hysterical. Once I reached him and untangled him, the kids started jumping up and down screaming for joy. I felt like a superstar as I dredged back through the swamp and weeds carrying our poor little poopsie to safety. It was the best. 

Here are some pictures of my obstacle course. The dog was somewhere slightly past where the sun is shining. See the basketball? It's just on the edge of the abyss, and no one will get it. It's been there for about 2 weeks. 

 Isn't that beautiful poison ivy climbing up the tree?

Why is it so easy to be a superstar to little kids? They require so little of you. Really all they crave is your presence and your love. At what age does that shift, I wonder? I don't remember when the older kids stopped thinking that everything I did or said was spectacular. It was such a gradual change that I didn't know it was happening until it was gone. When the girls were little I was so quick to want them to get older and move on to the next stage of childhood. I always thought things would be so much easier when they were older. Boy was I wrong. It's a terrible mistake to wish the time away, because you'll get that wish much quicker than you can ever anticipate. They are 15 and 17 and won't be home for much longer. I feel like I am running out of time, and I am not ready to let them go. I am trying to savor the small moments with the little kids as much as possible. I still catch myself wishing for easier days after a particularly tough one with crabby, whiney toddlers who've had no nap, but I am making an effort to enjoy these simple days, because when they are gone, they are gone for good. For now I will relish every "go Mommy go" that I can get.