Moments to hold on to . . .

One of my weaknesses is that I tend to be in too much of a hurry. I am often burdened by all the things that I think need to be done: the apartment needs cleaned, the laundry needs to be done, an email needs to be sent, a project needs to be finished, my blog needs to be updated . . . my mental list of things to do is endless. Sometimes it is hard to slow down and enjoy the present. Sometimes in the midst of the challenges that come with parenting a two year old and a four year old (tantrums, bickering, whining, bathroom accidents. . .), I forget to pay attention to some of the wonderful aspects of parenting a two year old and a four year old (lots of hugs and kisses, sweet innocence, beautiful laughs, playing outside . . .). Today, I thought I would pay tribute to some of the beautiful parenting experiences that I have had recently . . . so I don't forget them. These are moments I want to hold on to.

As a parent of two children, I find that among the moments I cherish most are those when I see my kids love and enjoy one another. About a week ago the kids and I went to the Community Center so they could play in the Toy Room (this is their name for the child care room) and I could work out. After my work out when I went to pick the kids up, I peeked through the window on the door of the toy room. What I saw melted my heart. My two kids were standing there hugging one another and smiling. I love to see Grant and Sophia care for one another when we are at home. It thrills my heart to think that they are learning to care for one another when they are away from home and my encouragement to do so.

On a similar note, Grant and Sophia have recently discovered the joy of wrestling with one another. Their favorite game is to get a mattress on the floor and wrestle one another on it. This brings back fun memories for me as I remember being a little kid and spending time wrestling with my dad and brother. It's fun to see the kids play and laugh during this game of theirs. I have to admit, though, that at times the game gets a little rough and Mommy and Daddy have to end the fun. I have written before about the fact that social games do not come easily for Grant. I love to watch the way that Grant is developing and practicing important social skills with Sophia.

Finally, we have had a lot of rain lately. We have a small drainage problem near the place we park our van, so after it rains every trip to the van entails a parent strongly encouraging the children to refrain from playing in the puddles. The other day it was warm and for a few moments in the afternoon it wasn't raining. I decided to let the kids indulge their deep desires of playing in the puddle that had been tempting them for a good week in a half. I put Grant and Sophia into old clothes and their rain boots and we headed out to the puddle. Let me tell you that you have never seen two kids enjoy a couple of gallons of muddy water as much as my kids did that afternoon. They stomped in the puddle. They jumped in the puddle. They through rocks into the puddle. They stirred the puddle with sticks. They invited every college student who walked by to join them in the puddle. It was great. In the end they were a mess, but it was definitely worth it.