If the moon is a coin...

I threw our stroller in the dumpster yesterday.  The stroller that was given to us 8 years ago when I was pregnant with Zoe.  The stroller I pushed around Brooklyn, for countless hours on countless days, while my first born napped.  The stroller I pushed while chatting on the phone with my mom and sisters, soaking up every possible motherhood nugget before I had any of my own to offer.  The stroller I pushed while walking the streets of Park Slope with my first mommy friend for life. The stroller I pushed a baby and preschooler in.  The stroller they later pushed their own baby dolls in.

I briefly considered giving it to someone else but after all the miles it worked, keeping my little lovies safe and comfy all these years, it was showing it's age and exhaustion.  Wobbly and rough around the edges, it wasn't fit to pass along.  So, out it went.

I realize I'm being sappy  but I'm not sad about it.  Just contemplative.  I will carry a touch of melancholy for a long time, knowing there will be no more babies for me but the wonder of witnessing my children growing is overshadowing that more and more.  I couldn't be more grateful.

Tonight, Zoe had her first official go at 1st grade homework.  They are to observe the moon all month and write in a "moon journal" every night before bed.  The kids and I went out after dinner and soaked up the spring-like evening air while pointing out constellations and discussing the magic that is the night sky.

After quietly completing her first entry, she shared her observations:

"If the moon is a coin hung in the sky to pay the old dream maker whenever he goes by."

She didn't write that last bit.  Her class learned it in school but looking at the moon tonight made her wonder whether or not it could be true.  

I'm so thankful to be able to have these conversations with her now, Owen listening in and contributing in his 4 year old way.  To hear something I've never heard coming from her and be able to ask her about it.  To learn from her and watch her grow.  I think about how much has changed and how it's just the beginning...

...I find the strength to heave that old stroller in the dumpster, take a walk with my big kids and discover together what this world has to offer us.