It's Farmer's Market season. Every Saturday, just walking distance from us.

I've been wanting to go, but we just haven't.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned to Little L that I was hoping to stop by the Farmer's Market. She hasn't been for awhile and didn't really seem to know what it was. As the morning went on, we began family cleaning morning and also a weeding project outside. Axel pulled dandelions and I vacuumed up a pound of hair and dirt. I accepted that we probably weren't going to the Farmer's Market.

And then.

Axel was looking at a patch of yard where he wanted to plant new grass. "I think we need some more dirt," he announced. "Maybe we should go to the garden store."

Little L perked up. "The Farmer's Garden?" she said. "Let's go to the Farmer's Garden!"

I took my opening. "The Farmer's Market?" I asked. "You want to go?"

Little L nodded. I checked the time. It was after 11 already.

"We'd have to go right now," I told her. "It's almost lunchtime."

She walked to the back door and got her shoes out and put them on.

Please read that sentence again. Little L, on her own, just got ready. No coaxing, no dawdling, no objections.

"But you need sunscreen," I said to her, not quite believing what was happening. She let me put it on her without struggle, which meant it only took a minute rather than the usual five.

I grabbed a granola bar and plopped it in my fanny pack with my wallet. I filled Little L's water bottle with ice water and off we went, just the two of us.

In under five minutes, we went from no hope of mobilizing to walking hand-in-hand to the Farmer's Market. To a place I like to go. To a place I wanted to go anyway.

This might not seem that profound. But there are a lot of things that I don't love doing that are part of the day-to-day in the parent business. Playing school. Playing store. Playing in general.

We arrived at the Farmer's Market and quickly ran into some friends. Friends! Little L wanted to walk all around, just seeing what there was. We took a few laps around the same stands as she looked around in awe.

And then we came upon the Children's Tent. They had a coloring activity that Little L did while I talked with my friend. We spotted a rosemary plant and bought it for Axel. And then I spotted the spinach pie guy and bought two pies for Axel and me, because Little L said she didn't want one. But because they were almost closing, he threw in a potato pie. And when we got home, she wanted the potato pie. Lunch was served.

It was easy, and it was fun. It was a win.

I don't fool myself into thinking that it will happen every weekend. Or even anytime soon. But now I know that it's within the realm of possibilities.

And that changes everything.