I may have lived in Montana for over a year now, but I still get happy when I see the antelope. "Look, Jeremy!" I said this morning, on the way to daycare. "Do you see the antelope?" It was standing close to the road, facing away from us. "Antelope's butt," he says. "Bottom. Antelope's bottom," say I. "Butt," says he. I remember that when I was in kindergarten, I thought "butt" was a 4-letter word. Jeremy's only 2. Oh, well. But anyway, now I have a new rendition of glass half empty/half full. Am I seeing the antelope or it's bottom?

It really is a beautiful day here today. The sun is shining, and the snow seems to have melted on the surrounding mountains. And, it's my kindergartener's last full day of school, which necessarily brings out the sentimental in me. My apologies to those who were hoping for something cynical. This past Saturday, Nate was out of town. Actually, I woke him at quarter past 4 in the morning so he could get on the road. Then, at 6am, 0600 hours, I kid you not, Zuri bursts into my bedroom. What's 2 with 4 zeroes after it? he wants to know. I had almost fallen back asleep when he tried again 15 minutes later. What's 1 with 5 zeroes after it? He is always on about numbers and is rather a math whiz, if you ask me. The other day, he asked himself what is 5 minus 8? And he answered himself that it was minus 3. Genius! But at 6am-desperate to be certain that Jeremy, cuddled next to me since 5am, didn't wake up-I was more inclined to see the antelope's bottom. Or butt.

I'm not your ultra-fun-type mom. But I am trying. That Saturday, I decided a baking project was in order. To be honest, I was really just trying to survive at home all day as a single mom. What did the kids want to bake? Cookies? Brownies? Cake? Caramel popcorn? The decision was cake. And we made it, though I knew they wouldn't eat a bite. They hate cake. They LOVE frosting. Before I had even got out the recipe, Jeremy was pulling the stool over to my drawer. You know, the drawer that has all my mommy odds and ends in it, that I always tell him to stay out of. He got out the birthday candles and proceeded to crumble wax around the parquet floor. Then, the kids battled over "helping," and mommy ruled that Zuri would measure and Jeremy would mix. Later came the frosting. Then candy heart sprinkles, a whole small jar of them, and our unbirthday cake was finished.

I was right, of course. Neither of them have eaten a bite. Well, maybe one or two. Mainly frosting. But on this beautiful Tuesday morning, I'm thinking that focusing on the negative would be like only seeing the antelope's butt, so I'm taking the time now to smile. To remember the excitement, the licking of beaters, the peeking in the oven, noses and shirts dusted with flour. To remember something other than the mess I had to clean up or the whole cake that Nate and I are eating all by ourselves this week. Lest all the good things in life be more like the squirrel I also saw this morning. "Look! A squirrel!" I said to Jeremy. But even at 35mph, we had passed it by, and Jeremy said he didn't see it at all. Not even its butt.