It is beautiful out. Why is shopping the first thing I think of on a day like today? What about going to the bike trail with my 4-year-old, who made great progress on his balance bike last weekend? Or the walking trail at the local pond that I only recently discovered? Can’t fitness and health be my first thoughts? Or maybe motherhood?

I finished a book last week that left me with a poignant thought: what do I want this family to look like? I don’t mean physically, obviously, but how do I want us to be? I thought of weekends filled with giggles, smiles, and recharging. As part of that vision, I asked my husband if we could focus on teaching our almost 8-year-old to ride a bike without training wheels. He agreed, and shortly after, I was awestruck to find him searching for videos on tips and tricks. Our rainy weekend turned out to be dry and he took his task very seriously. I thought my son would learn by the end of the summer, but how amazingly wrong I was.

He learned within 24 hours.

What?!

Teacher and pupil were both ready for the challenge. They both wanted it and made it happen. Incredibly, it was not a struggle for either of them. The progress just flowed. My son has not stopped smiling. His confidence level went up a notch, a really big one.

It was an amazing weekend. We got all our chores and errands done, but we also had fun. I wasn’t trying to find a couple of hours to go shopping or escape from the drudgery of life, as I do almost every minute of every day. I can’t think of the last weekend I had where I didn’t try to escape, or at least dream about checking out for a while.

I see it. More weekends like this one. My kids are old enough to remember these times, and I want their memories full of a loving and fun mom, not a grouchy uninterruptible mom at the computer. I really do believe that it can happen. I see it, and I choose it.