Sappy Thursday

This is long, but (prepare for cheesiness) it has changed the way I parent all of my children. Not long after this song became popular, Steven Curtis Chapman lost his youngest daughter in a tragic accident. So we now dance whenever we can, and the world can wait. Today I am playing with the Princess because she invited me, and because she makes the whole crazy impatient business of the world and our adoption fade into the background. The dishes, the laundry, the room I need to finish painting, they don't spin around and giggle. I swear, her laughter is magical. I dare anyone to listen to it and not feel better than before. The boys grow up just as fast, and their moments of needing us (at least admitting it) grow farther apart and become that much more precious. I'm talking to myself as much as to you, Don't Miss those quick glimpses back to their little-boy selves who loved to sit on your lap and be tucked into bed at night. They are still there if you look. Just take a minute today to appreciate your children. Tell them how much you love them, and why. They drive us crazy, they break things, they whine and they argue and they roll their eyes. But they love us and they want to know that we love them. So say it and DO it.