Little Blessings

Today is the last day of four-year old preschool, where our little Lutheran school blesses the children and sends them on their way for a healthy, hopeful, safe summer. This year, the blessing rang true and clear as we gave thanks for all of the blessings we've had in the past three days in our spared community. We are safe. Our school stands exactly as it did last Friday. Our children paraded in line wearing clean dresses and pressed pants. And for that, I am grateful.

Someday, she'll try to tell you she never wore Crocs with sweat socks. Don't believe her. Here's proof. 

Yes, I made him wear pink. Real men wear pink. And, a better mom would have put sunglasses on the kids too. Mommy's sorry. Oops. 

They blessed my baby and sent him on his way for a healthy, hopeful, safe summer. 

He was not impressed. 

I'm telling myself he just takes it very seriously. But then again, there are so many things about RJ (and his sister ) that aren't serious. 

From RJ at bedtime: "I'll see you in the morning. I promise I'll still do silly things." I thought this was funny at the time. Now, it seems prophetic and most certainly a blessing. He's doing silly things today, in fact. 

His sister is pretty silly too. A few weeks ago, she cried all night. Inconsolable. Upon waking in the morning, she fretted with her sleep sack, tugging the zipper and pulling at her feet. "Me see toes! Meeee seeee toes!" Of course. She hadn't been wearing it lately. It covered her toes, which alarmed her, and was certainly cause to keep the whole household awake.  Everything alarms her these days, but fortunately most alarms sound during daylight hours. 

For the record, some of her favorite phrases are currently: "Want app-ell!" "Me need mah shoes!"and  "Me need new dumpy!" (yes, she calls her diaper a dumpy--I certainly don't take credit for that). 

And of course, there are the times when RJ's not trying to be silly, but he kind of is. We went to UCO a few weeks ago for a Kendo class. There are bleachers in the gym, and I learned that if you've never taken your five-year old son to a junior high basketball game, it's likely that he'll sit at the bleachers like they're a lunch table: feet dangling, bottom on the foot row, seated facing forward like he's about to eat chicken nuggets. 

Then, there are days when he says things that should be silly, but they aren't. A few days ago, RJ told me, "God is everywhere.  He has octopus hands everywhere." With clear skies outside, our blessings day seems unfair. Selfish almost to presume that God's octopus hands would be 20 miles north of incomprehensible devastation, just to send our little ones on their way toward summer.  

I'm grateful for our little blessings and for our blessings day, please don't misunderstand.  It just seems a little selfish to hug my babies too close today, to stand in air conditioned comfort and fold laundry, to take the swagger wagon through traffic, to generally go on about my life. I'm grateful for all the little blessings today--most of all that my babies are headed toward a healthy, hopeful and safe summer.