Celebrating Life...: An ordinary week full of things

Earlier in the week I took Lola and the boys for a run on the fields at St Alban’s. On the way home in the car, Lola, who is not given to fresh breath, was panting and slobbering most enthusiastically.

Cam: ‘I can smell something. What’s that I smell?’

Me: ‘Um… I think it’s probably Lola?’

Cam: ‘No. I think it’s someone selling toast and onions.’

Other noteworthy Cameron comments and questions from the week:

‘Mom, why did you live a day in the world today?’

‘Do you want to sip the sky? I’m going to mix in delicious sun and clouds.’

‘Mom, I’m so proud of Scott for eating all his gem squash. He’s such a big boy.’ (This in the hope that I wouldn’t notice the fact that he hadn’t eaten his… J)

Scott does indeed love gem squash. He is also walking four steps at a time and saying eleven words and climbing up and down stairs and out of his bed and devising plans to reach whatever we try to put out of reach. (The other day I came into the kitchen and found him sitting on the microwave.) On Friday he also broke Cam’s glasses and nearly won this morning’s wrestling match on our bed.

We were supposed to go camping this weekend, but due to the frenetic nature of these last weeks of the year and various mitigating factors, we settled instead for a picnic at the Botanical Gardens and putting up the Christmas tree. (Yes, it’s early, but it’s not just me anymore who wants the tree up in November. Cam begged us. The promise of Saturday and Christmas lights was our most powerful vegetable-eating and toy-tidying-up bargaining tool all week.) I realised again that I am living in a house full of boys when this morning I found on the tree, amidst the glistening balls and snowflakes, a frisbee and a rubber snake. Sigh.

This evening before the boys went to bed I was busy with something or other and Cam said, ‘Mom, can you come and sit with me on the couch a bit?’ It was one of those moments when the Holy Spirit said Go NOW. Don’t say, ‘I’m just quickly finishing this…’ So I dropped what I was doing immediately and went to sit with him. He climbed on my lap and hugged me hard and said, ‘I just love you Mom!’ I was very glad I had chosen the couch over the to-do list. I’ll do that more.

Scott, on the other hand, is into big wet splendid smooches at the moment and I just love it. It’s no wonder that the germs continue to do the rounds in this house of ours, and (at least) one of us is always sick. It’s not even worth mentioning. What is worth mentioning is that I have been reading Proverbs 3 this week, and God has renewed my hope and peace. What is also worth mentioning is that Cam informed us on Wednesday morning that he didn’t want to go to school because, ‘I feel a bit green. I’m not green all over. Just a little bit green.’ J

‘You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.’ – Proverbs 3:24-26