Sometimes you have to just seize the moment. It’s something I’m trying to do more and more often as a parent. I like structure as much as anyone else, and I think it’s healthy for kids, so I try to keep to some sort of routine for Elias. We brush our teeth twice a day. We have a bedtime routine and a morning routine. But I also want to be the kind of parent that can seize the moment. I want to be able to recognize when we can throw the routine out the window and just do something fun. I want to live in the joyful moments and create our own fun.
You can barely see the snow falling in this picture. Toward the end of our walk, the snow was sticking, and when we got up to the Children's Museum, there were inches of accumulation!
Tuesday morning was a special morning because Nathan took a vacation day from work. Nathan’s sister and our nieces were back in town and we had plans to go to the Children’s Museum with them. We looked out the window early in the morning, and it was snowing. At first it was just snow mixed with rain, but then we had a full blown “snow” on our hands. Being March 13th, it was quite remarkable. I thought to myself, “wouldn’t it be fun to go feel the snow on our faces….to truly enjoy it outside rather than just looking longingly from inside?” Then I thought…what’s to stop us? So I suggested the idea and Nathan thought it would be fun too.
We bundled Elias up… pj’s and all… in his warmest winter coat and hat. He got one more chance to wear those fun Lightening McQueen light up snow boots. Although we weren’t outside for long, I know it was all worth it. Elias had fun leading us on a walk across the wetlands bridge. He had fun feeling the snow on his hands and face. He had fun looking out over the bottom rail of the bridge into the overgrown cattails. We created a special moment for our family. These will be the times we remember.
What a glorious day! Long before you came to St. Bart’s Ken Dorsch preached a sermon (twice in his first few years actually!) for which the refrain was “Wake up the baby and show her the stars” – which was a quotation from Madeline L’Engle. It’s a good motto — there ARE sometime when breaking routine is just the right thing. Once we took our boys to Eastern Oregon in early August — got everyone to sleep only to wake them up about 1am to watch the meteor showers for an hour before going back to sleep.
If Elias was in Indiana with his grandpa he’d be running around in shorts and wearing suntan lotion. It’s been about 80 degrees for several days! Winter?