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| Grandpa John and Will watching the soft shelled turtles at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Tx. |
Yesterday, God reminded me how precious our children are, he chose to teach me through a little two year old boy.
As sit down in front of my computer I notice it is 5:32 a.m. and everyone is asleep, except our two cats, Toby and Kelly. Kelly is a little over one year old and still acts much like a kitten. She felt it her duty this morning to jump on our bed and try to wake us up by posting herself on Anne and purring vigorously. After a couple of attempts to put her down off the bed, I shut the doors in an attempt to go back to sleep. Just when I was about to doze off, the door started to slam again and again. I got down on the floor and started to open it with the attempt to quiet Kelly with a hush. While doing this, I noticed that Toby was by my side and she was wanting out of our room. The little tuxedo kitty must have been sleeping on Anne’s leather chair without me noticing her. I let her out and then I realized that it was too late for me to get back to sleep, so I got up. I prayed for the day and then read some of the headlines for today. They consisted of the improvements that doctors in Canada are doing in helping Alzheimer patients to retain their memory through electrical implants. I read about the difficulty that Afghanistan is having in establishing its new system of law, and the eliminating of the harsh Islamic law that pervades mostly in the more remote areas of Afghanistan. I also read about gardening techniques for planting one’s garden in the spring, as well as that of when to prune one’s trees.
As sit down in front of my computer I notice it is 5:32 a.m. and everyone is asleep, except our two cats, Toby and Kelly. Kelly is a little over one year old and still acts much like a kitten. She felt it her duty this morning to jump on our bed and try to wake us up by posting herself on Anne and purring vigorously. After a couple of attempts to put her down off the bed, I shut the doors in an attempt to go back to sleep. Just when I was about to doze off, the door started to slam again and again. I got down on the floor and started to open it with the attempt to quiet Kelly with a hush. While doing this, I noticed that Toby was by my side and she was wanting out of our room. The little tuxedo kitty must have been sleeping on Anne’s leather chair without me noticing her. I let her out and then I realized that it was too late for me to get back to sleep, so I got up. I prayed for the day and then read some of the headlines for today. They consisted of the improvements that doctors in Canada are doing in helping Alzheimer patients to retain their memory through electrical implants. I read about the difficulty that Afghanistan is having in establishing its new system of law, and the eliminating of the harsh Islamic law that pervades mostly in the more remote areas of Afghanistan. I also read about gardening techniques for planting one’s garden in the spring, as well as that of when to prune one’s trees.
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| Will took this. Anne with her sister Gayle, from Texas. |
I now look down at the cloth chairs that my (mostly Scandinavian) sweetheart Anne got from Ikea and notice that Toby is lying next to me on the nearest chair. She is grooming herself with vigor and I see that she is up, if not for the day, at least for a couple of hours before her next catnap. I find that in the quiet hours of the morning I can sort out things more clearly compared to that of during the hustle and bustle of the day, when needs and wants are addressed with certain frequency. As with so many early mornings of kitties being my alarm clock, I find a quiet solitude of having the darkness outside, it being my comforting blanket that shrouds me from the busyness of life. This time of the day my thoughts go back just a few short years ago, and I discover that my children are growing up very quickly. And with that, I am trying to visualize what they were like just a handful of years ago.
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| Abby and Will at Padre Island (with friend of course.) |
Last night after a very busy day, I asked Anne if she would not mind putting the kids to bed while I stepped out to go to Starbucks, to sit down by myself and drink a cup of coffee and read the newspaper. She smiled and said, “Of course not, I would not mind, enjoy yourself.”
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| Abby and her cousin, Nathaniel. |
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| Helping the captain out. |
As I sat down with the paper in front of me, I looked up and saw a little two-year-old boy sitting in a cart with his daddy who was standing by him. His father was ordering a coffee while the little boy was saying hi to attendant named “Anne” behind the counter. I was surprised to see that the small boy was so open with her, as well as his father when talking. The small boy next asked the attendant if she had a sticker. She responded with a smile and said, “Yes I do, a coffee sticker.” The little boy next asked her if he could have some coffee, and with that, his daddy told him that he was too young. “Mommy is getting you a Icee instead, from the food court.” He then received his sticker and his daddy said to the little boy, “What do you say?” The child smiled and then responded by saying, “Thank you!” Watching this scenario through the corner of my eye while reading the paper, made me miss my not so little boy and girl at home. My thoughts went back to Will when he was that age. Where does time go? Will, now is 9 and he is almost 5 feet tall. It seems that when we buy him a pair of pants or pajamas, they become to short within a breath of time. Then I look up at this little happy boy in front of me at Starbucks, and I cannot wait to get home to be with Will and his little 6-year-old sister, Abby. I come to an understanding by watching this little drama of life taking place, that our children do not stay small as we would sometimes like, they grow up too quickly. I find myself putting the rest of the newspaper away on the shelf, thanking the attendant for the coffee, and quickly getting my list of groceries and supplies and then rushing home. My children are just heading downstairs when I arrive, and I notice when looking at my watch that I hadn’t been gone long at all, it just seemed like a lifetime. Walking over to Anne, I kiss her with tenderness and love. I then catch my children going down the steps and give them hugs and kisses as well. I think, reading a newspaper can be a good thing! God has truly blessed me more than I can say.
