The odor of the Mom That's Been Gone Too Long has pervaded the house - the fridge smells weird - not bad, really, just weird, and the laundry that I started and promptly forgot about has that colying aroma of mildew, that if I hurry (and I did) I can get out just using detergent, and not getting out the Ulitmate Odor Elimator: White Vingear. The chinese landry hanging in the bathroom upstairs, with the open window, remained wonderfully fresh, but the interior of the car? Whole other story, in itself.

Which leads me to tonight, when I'd finally soaked him in a lovely, frothing bubble tubby, laughing and going over our Favorite Part Of The Day, getting the mud and grass stains, dirt and sweat from beneath his nails, and that Camp Neck he had going, and he says to me, clear as a bell: remember when we were at Helen's? and you were laughing, and I started laughing, and I didn't know why? remember that mama?

I sure do.

Talk about being blissed out on parenting; when you child wanders through your freshiest memories, and culls the best ones, only to recite them at bathtime, while you sit, transfixed at this amazing person who blooms right in front of you.

And while part of me is flogging myself for the turning clothing, and the fridge with The Funny Smell, as H calls it, the only partially washed floors, and the toys, still littering the front room, the car that needs to be detailed in a way so desperate I think it might drive away from me on it's own - it occurs to me. All those items littering the To Do List are just that - so much litter.

I did the important stuff today: we went to Brant's bday party. We took a well chosen, thoughtfully wrapped gift, we ate pizza, and cake, cried when we got the green handled water weapon instead of the blue one, til Mommy chatted with the ogre holding a whole slew of blue ones....we went grocery shopping, at Walmart, the new Super one, and checked out the toy aisle, and whether we had everything we needed for the SpongeBob b-day party of his coming up in two weeks. We got ice cream cones on the way home, as our sugar levels had too much blood in them, and we ran like maniacs through the yard, barefoot, playing baseball.

We capped off a whole weekend of too late nights and great parties with some Just Us time, and I think, I met the greatest little boy of Earth.

Mine.