Friday, March 27, 2015

Thank You a Lot!

"Thank you a lot!"  came flying with Liam through the two front seats of the parked car, along with a surprise hug.  We'd just gotten back from a trip to Liam's favorite arcade and instead of the usual dash to the front door, he took a moment to thank me.

I've been savoring more and more moments like this lately.  Listening to questions about increasingly complicated ideas - "what does "weird" mean?"
"It means "unusual."
"What does "unusual" mean?"
"Well, when I turn on the computer in the morning, I expect to hear this sound, "bong!"  If I heard this sound (loud rooster crow) - that would be unusual and I'd say, "that's weird!"
Peals of laughter at the idea of the Mac making rooster sounds.

Watching him eagerly chasing down the neighbor boy on his scooter calling after him, "Where are you going?"  Easy, natural and new.

Giving ourselves time and space to think and just be feels good - healthy.

Because Liam takes after-school classes, I'm still on the mailing list for his old school.  I saw today that his class was going on a field trip.  I've accompanied those trips - hearding teams of chatty, excited children.  Lots of crowd management.  I couldn't help but compare it to the leisurly pace of our last field trip to the La Brea Tar Pits.  We all went together for the special homeschool day.  Small family groups of mixed age children exploring what interested them - taking their time.




He's growing as an artist too.  This is a recent drawing from his after-school art class:

John and I have more time to research, think, plan and take advantage of extended time together.  I've read that the happiest people are those that take time to be grateful.  So, I just want to join my son in saying, "thank you, a lot!"