sail away...as a family

Someday, when I'm perfect, I will forever be aware of how lucky I am. Today, when I'm not perfect, I get bogged down by responsibilities and forget to look for the joy in life. Which is really ridiculous because joy is abundant in my life. But thankfully I have lots of good friends in the same stage of life as me, with the same values and direction as me, who remind me what life is about.

It is about this:

When you look at this picture, there's lots of things you could see.
1. You could see kids in pajamas (one in wintry type, one in summery type).
2. You could see a mess.
3. You could see an air mattress and a pile of bedding, implying we had company (which we did).
4. Or you could see an ocean, a boat, a water trampoline, a bridge and some sharks (though they're invisible).

Today, the kids and I saw the last option. And we spent an hour jumping from place to place, trying to avoid the sharks, building bridges, and saving toys or little legs that would fall into the ocean.


As Alexis and Tyler get older they become more self entertaining. They are good to play together, and they are both good to play quietly by themselves. So I find myself becoming more the enforcer of rules, the getter of food, and the nagging voice telling them to clean up. Those things are all part of my job description, but also part of my job is getting on the floor and playing with my kids. And that last part, the most important part, is all too often lost in the shuffle of moving from one unimportant task to another. But showing them I love them, showing them I know how to have fun, and helping them build a strong imagination is a very important task. And so today, I feel pretty good about what I've done here. I just hope when Jeremy gets home tonight he also sees the ocean and boat!

Now go build a fort with your kids!