Gorgeous day in Boston today! Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a good one. Some highlights:

Z, the four year old I babysit for drew me a picture of a “birthday tornado storm,” with lots of wind, smoke and lightning. Love it.

I went with Z and his 15mo old brother, N, to the Boston Nature Center, where we saw lots of birds, including wild turkeys, hawks, robins, I think an osprey, and my favorite, red-winged blackbirds. They are so beautiful, with the flash of red against the shiny black. I took them as a personal birthday present. And just seeing the kids running around and loving the outdoors was wonderful.

Pushed myself at the gym for a new personal record: 2 mile run at 5mph. I started running in February, and it took me weeks to even run a mile at all; weeks more to run one at 5mph. Yesterday I did two!

And one of my favorite writers/bloggers, Glennon, posted a wonderful quote by Amma that made my day:

“The essence of motherhood is not restricted to women who have given birth; it is inherent in both men and women. It is an attitude of the mind. It is love, and love is the very breath of life.” Amma (not mine, the hugging saint of India)

We Are All Mothers.

Oh, and the title of this post is from one of Z and my favorite books, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury.

We’re going on a bear hunt

We’re going to catch a big one.

What a beautiful day!

We’re not scared.

Whenever I say to Z, “What a beautiful day!” He replies, “We’re not scared!” What a wonderful affirmation, don’t you think? Let’s go!