Simple Pleasures

The kids and I were recently away from the house for a several days.  Away from school work that really should have been done, away from laundry/cooking/cleaning, away from the phone calls, the computer emails and social networks, away from paper work for scouts and church, away from weekly meetings.  We were away from everything.  It was wonderful.  It gave me time to notice the little things like how wonderful my children are.  We were visiting our newest cousin who at the time was only 7 weeks old.  They fussed and awed over him the whole time we were there.  I watched as they fed him, burped him, talked and played with him, and cuddled him as he slept.  They are such loving little people.

[callout]I can’t always get away from the tasks and chores that have to be completed to keep our household running, but I can certainly steal a moment here and there to watch these children as they are right now.[/callout]Mattie Claire and I were able to take walks down to the pond.  For most people I guess the goal would be getting to the pond and seeing what was there.  That was not Mattie Claire’s goal.  She delighted in gathering sticks.  First one, then another and another, until she had a collection of five sticks.  Little sticks because she’s not even two yet and her hands are pretty small.  She would carry those sticks for about four steps and then hand one to me.  We would walk another four steps and then I would get another one.  After a while she would ask for them back,  switch the sticks to the other hand, and then the process would start all over.  I was completely in awe of her.  She was the owner of those sticks and she was the one deciding what was going to happen to them and when.  She was in control.  I took great pleasure in seeing my little girl make conscious decisions on what was going to happen.  Even though it was only with a bunch of simple sticks.

I can’t always get away from the tasks and chores that have to be completed to keep our household running, but I can certainly steal a moment here and there to watch these children as they are right now.  Ann Voskamp’s latest journal entry on her blog A Holy Experience tells us that our days are numbered.  We have to steal as many of those simple pleasure moments as possible.  I think I’ll go hug my kids right now.