The Little Things

Last week we had a couple of hours of hard rain and at times high wind with thunder and lighting. You would think that we would have been inside, keeping dry and hoping the power wouldn't go out. No, that is to normal. We opened the garage doors and pulled out chairs and watched the storm. When there was a rain and wind, but no thunder and lighting, the boys stood up by the doors and said "Ready Mom" I got up and stood with them. On three we ran across our driveway to the shed and back laughing. Husband stayed in the garage and gave us a crazy look when we returned. I was almost crying. I asked the boys why they did that. Big Son looked at me and said, we always watched storms and ran in the rain when it was summer. Don't you remember Mom. I did remember. It had been awhile since we did that, but I felt my heart clench that my two boys remembered and enjoyed doing that.

There are little things that parents do with their children that make more of a lasting impression than what we think. Who would have thought that running through the rain brought happiness? Tomorrow afternoon we are digging a fire hole in our pull off driveway (this is where we park the trailer and motor home). On Thursday, when the boys come home from school we will put their school papers from the year, notebooks (not journals that they keep in school) and workbooks in the fire hole and burn it. This is something we have done since Big Son was in 3rd grade. It is a way to end the school year and look towards the future. We talk about what they did during the past school year and what they are looking forward to for the next. After we do that, we go out to lunch and then a movie.