Life Lessons

It’s amazing how children see life so differently than adults. Not just the glass half full or half empty. A child may not pay much attention to the glass at all but be in wonder of the bubbles rising up in the liquid. Probably why adults don’t pay much attention anymore to the cloud in the sky shaped like a puppy. We’re just a little to busy to take the time to look, or imagine. With Wyatt’s imagination I have been served some delicious food made out of sand and rocks!

Wyatt sometimes likes to help out around the house and sorting laundry can be an adventure. As I instructed him to put the reds in one pile and the whites in another I was corrected, “Daddy, Thomas (the train) goes in this pile and Bob the Builder goes in this pile.” How could I have not known you can’t mix characters?

Are you listening?

Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much time I spend with Wyatt it’s just not enough. I want to be there for him 24-7 but the fact is I can’t. However, last week Wyatt was sick with a cold and needed to stay home from day care to get some rest. Fortunately, I wasn’t as busy as usual at the office so I was able to stay home with him – although I still answered my phone calls etc. During one such phone call, Wyatt interrupted and I asked him to hold on just a minute. I’m sure it seemed like forever to him but when I hung up I asked what he needed. Wyatt said, “I just wanted to tell you I love you.” With that, all memories of the phone call were gone. That put life into perspective real quick.

Last Sunday he was just getting over his cold and I was in the middle of mine. I just didn’t have the energy to play with him the way he wanted, so at the end of the day I felt bad, like I had let him down a bit. Sure it was just one day but every day with Wyatt is important so I’m a little hard on myself. At any rate, I said I would make it up to him and that was good enough.

You know how sometimes you buy your child something expensive thinking he’s really going to like it but instead is in wonder of the packaging? Sometimes it doesn’t take as much as we think to intrigue our kids. Wyatt and I have seen The Polar Express movie a hundred times and there is a part in the movie where the conductor asks the passengers for their tickets so he can punch them. So I bought a $2 hole-punch and gave it to him last night. That $2 kept us both entertained for the rest of the evening as Wyatt punched my make-believe train ticket over and over. “Tickets please...daddy I need your ticket.”

And one more special moment... I asked Wyatt if he wanted some waffles before we left for day care and he said sure. As I walked to the kitchen I heard “Wait…wait, Daddy!” As I turned to see what was the matter Wyatt reached out and said, “I need a hug.”………………… I’ve got all the hugs you’ll ever need son.