Through the Wardrobe

I've taken the boys to several different parks and playgrounds this spring and summer, and after a friend tipped me off we visited a new one right in the heart of the bustling materialism of downtown Vestal. 

I went right by the entrance a couple of times before finally spotting it hidden between two houses on a street lined with nice, neat, suburban homes. Down a tree-shadowed driveway and just like that--

You're not in Vestal anymore. You're hardly on the map at all.

Still can't believe such a beautiful, private park is hidden away down there.

These are the days.

The days of sweaty, gritty motherhood that so often tempt me to head-underwater overwhelm.

The days of little prayers, short and often and ineloquent.

The days of chasing joy wherever I can find it, and then realizing that, really, it's all over the place if I just stop trying so hard. If I surrender to the mess of growing.