Moments

Life is filled with moments and there are so many I have taken for granted but one of the things I have learned in these past six months is to take nothing for granted especially life's little moments. Take today for instance the children were off from school due to the holiday and my son spent the entire day with his new found best friend which happens to be our neighbor and this new best friend's cousin. The three of them played for awhile at my neighbor's house then around 11:30 am they came back over our house and asked to go swimming. Of course they could go swimming and it was fantastic to see these three young boys get along so well. My son is 4, his friend is 5 and his friend's cousin is 9. They played as only boys can play which is very hard all afternoon. Also one of the side effects from playing so hard is these boys can eat. I think we served them two lunches and two snacks in three hours!!!

After swimming the three boys went back to our neighbor's house and played some more. My son's friend was so tired he decided to take a nap at 5:00 pm but my son kept on playing with his friend's cousin. It is amazes me how well my son does with older children especially boys. He idolizes his oldest "boy" cousin even though they live 3,000 miles apart and 8 years separates their ages. It doesn't matter to my son as long as he is being entertained by these older boys, he is so happy. Another amazing fact is we have lived in our house for four years the same as my neighbor and only in the past few months have our sons gotten together. They are fast friends and this friendship also helps both parents by alleviating some of the entertaining. I love watching how these little boys interact and it these little moments that make life so special.

As my son was playing with his new friends I did feel a little sorry for my daughter. She really doesn't have anyone in the neighborhood her age that can drop by the house like my son's friend. In order for her friends to come over to the house a play date must be arranged that is mutually agreed upon by the mothers. My daughter does have plenty of friends; however; it is not as spontaneous as her brother's friend. I did feel for her because she seemed a little out of sorts with all the boys playing in the pool. She did relent and went in the swimming pool (much to her better judgment!) for a few hours this afternoon and she even played with the boys (again much to her better judgment). She did appear to have fun although she tried to hide it afterall these were boys and she is 7 years old and really wants nothing to do with them. Too bad this thought doesn't last her entire life!! I am sure her teenage years would be much more enjoyable!!

I did share another moment with my daughter this evening as she read here Junie B Jones book to me before bedtime. The story was about teachers and my daughter stopped reading and told me in such a matter of fact tone; "when I was little (probably last year!) I thought teachers lived in school but now I know they live in houses just like us". I did ask her about her Grandmother who is a teacher and she has been to her house so many times; "you know Grandma is a teacher and you have been to her house so why wouldn't other teachers live in a house?" She replied Grandma is a Grandma and a teacher so I thought Grandma's lived in houses but not MY teachers but now I know teachers do live in houses". Then she turned the page in her book and kept on reading. Oh these moments are so special and I do love these children so very much.

The clarity I have gained in the past six months is immeasurable. I don't know why it took me so long but whatever happens I know I am taking the proper steps and getting in touch with my true self. May God bless my family because God has certainly blessed me in so many ways.