DELIGHT

1 : a high degree of gratification : joy; also : extreme satisfaction
2 : something that gives great pleasure (her performance was a delight)

Today was a wonderful day. It was the third day of my daughters' fall break, but the first day of their break that has been completely under our control - no meetings, no appointments, no responsibilities. So I decided we would visit Cheekwood. We've been before, but most often in the summer to see the Fairy Tale houses. After today, I've decided autumn is made for Cheekwood...

The weather was beautiful - a crisp, fall day that was warm in the sun, cool in the shade. The scarecrows were fabulous - scattered throughout the grounds, in a wide range of styles from funny to spooky to artsy. The grounds were gorgeous - and accessible - the girls roamed, ran, explored. And I delighted in it.

Many of my friends, given a day like today, would choose the Zoo as a place to kill three or four hours. Not me, I'll choose Cheekwood every time. We started with scarecrows, meandered to the herb garden, spent some time seeing the current art exhibit, sat in the sun for a picnic, traipsed around the ponds and ended with more scarecrows. It fed my soul to spend time in the sun, amongst all of this beauty with my daughters. And I was filled with delight - in them, in the day, in the experience.

It was a good reminder to take time to enjoy my daughters. I know they are growing and changing nearly every day. I see it with my own eyes. And I don't kid myself that in ten years my daughters will agree to spend a gorgeous day like today at Cheekwood with me. It was wonderful to not only have this time together, but to see it for what it was - a delight.

One of my favorite moments was near the end of our day as I watched the girls explore one of the ponds. A & B picked their way around while K was exploring elsewhere. But when K decided to join them and got stuck, they clambered back over to help her. It felt like I was watching them create their own little Terebithia, where they were the only inhabitants. Truly, a delight.