On Wednesday this week I drove SIP to a much anticipated birthday party for his good friend Sid. While I drove I reflected on the nice concept of going to a birthday party at 4:00 on a Wednesday for a newly turned five year old. As all moms know, four o'clock on a weekday in toddler world is dead time, no man's land, and also known as the bewitching hour when your otherwise precious child becomes a complete selfish, tantruming brat. So, having a birthday party to go to was a truly special treat for both mom and child.
Sid lives at the beach in an amazing beach house that SIP (and I) enjoy visiting. We crossed the marsh on our way to Tybee and SIP began talking about Sid's house so I had to tell him that the party wasn't going to be at his house, but instead at the park. SIP was quiet a few seconds as he contemplated this turn of events and said, "Do you think there will be a bench there to put the cake on?"
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
God is magic.
Yesterday I was driving SIP to school and he said, "Did you know that God is magic?" I smiled and said, "Of course he is, he can do anything." To which SIP replied, "Even when he dies, he grows back."
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The Christmas Cactus
The weekend following Thanksgiving, we went to my parents' house in the country. I relished watching SIP, our four year old, an only child, play with his cousins. They played non-stop for two days moving from room to room, adventure to adventure, caught a showing of our newly acquired movie Brave, jumped on the beds, played hide and seek, rode bikes, and created a village in the tall shrubs in the backyard.
They played for hours outside, and we the grown-ups watched through the window in the keeping room. We stood warm and toasty by the large fireplace, football on the television in the background, wine in our hands and watched the little ones through the glass as they bustled about in the brisk fifty degree weather. In short time they shed their hoodies and coats in spite of chapped cheeks and runny noses for the heat inside their bodies radiated from them - the physical manifestation of pure and positive energy...warmth.
Inside we, the adults, compared notes for our Christmas schedules and hinted around for some gift ideas for one another and the kids. I began the conversation with a story about SIP's number one item on his wish list for Santa Claus...a four foot tall and two foot in diameter concrete water fountain shaped like a giant cactus and adorned with three carved owls. I don't know, it just spoke to him one day in June when we went to buy chicken food from the feed store for our four araucana chickens. I thought he would forget about it over time, but no. Since that day, he has "written" Santa a letter requesting the fountain and sent him a picture of it via my cell phone. I explained to him that the fountain might be too large for Santa's sleigh, but SIP has a pretty good grasp on the concept of Christmas magic, so he's not really buying it. My sister in law, who has four children ranging from four to nine years old, sighed and said, "I'm about ready to tell them the truth about Santa."
So what is the truth about Santa? Ok, maybe the sleigh doesn't exist anymore and the reindeer don't fly. He doesn't come down the chimney or eat our cookies or read our names in his giant book of naughty and nice. But one fact holds true, St. Nick was a real man. "The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships." (http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/)
John 3:16 tells us that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have ever lasting life. So if we dial back the fluff, the insignificant elements of our culture's depiction of Santa Claus, we're left with a more incredible story about Christmas magic sure to pass the sniff test of any child and we'll never have to dread the day when our child learns the "truth"...that Santa is real living in Heaven with God.
"So are you going to get it?" everyone asks about the cactus fountain. The answer, "Yes, of course." My four year old son loves a gaudy, garish, near obscene piece of garden art and has asked Santa, the one guy who can make something that crazy happen for him, to bring it for Christmas. Not a skateboard, scooter, trampoline, or basketball goal, but a water fountain! When will this ever happen again? When after this year will I have such a whimsical treasure to remind me of this beautiful moment in time? A time when my child chose art over the Avengers? The sound of running water over the sound of Angry Birds? Heck yes we're going to get it for him and we'll put it in the flower bed just outside the living room window by the koi pond and every December I'm going to string lights around it to celebrate innocence, individuality, and Faith.
They played for hours outside, and we the grown-ups watched through the window in the keeping room. We stood warm and toasty by the large fireplace, football on the television in the background, wine in our hands and watched the little ones through the glass as they bustled about in the brisk fifty degree weather. In short time they shed their hoodies and coats in spite of chapped cheeks and runny noses for the heat inside their bodies radiated from them - the physical manifestation of pure and positive energy...warmth.
Inside we, the adults, compared notes for our Christmas schedules and hinted around for some gift ideas for one another and the kids. I began the conversation with a story about SIP's number one item on his wish list for Santa Claus...a four foot tall and two foot in diameter concrete water fountain shaped like a giant cactus and adorned with three carved owls. I don't know, it just spoke to him one day in June when we went to buy chicken food from the feed store for our four araucana chickens. I thought he would forget about it over time, but no. Since that day, he has "written" Santa a letter requesting the fountain and sent him a picture of it via my cell phone. I explained to him that the fountain might be too large for Santa's sleigh, but SIP has a pretty good grasp on the concept of Christmas magic, so he's not really buying it. My sister in law, who has four children ranging from four to nine years old, sighed and said, "I'm about ready to tell them the truth about Santa."
So what is the truth about Santa? Ok, maybe the sleigh doesn't exist anymore and the reindeer don't fly. He doesn't come down the chimney or eat our cookies or read our names in his giant book of naughty and nice. But one fact holds true, St. Nick was a real man. "The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships." (http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/)
John 3:16 tells us that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have ever lasting life. So if we dial back the fluff, the insignificant elements of our culture's depiction of Santa Claus, we're left with a more incredible story about Christmas magic sure to pass the sniff test of any child and we'll never have to dread the day when our child learns the "truth"...that Santa is real living in Heaven with God.
"So are you going to get it?" everyone asks about the cactus fountain. The answer, "Yes, of course." My four year old son loves a gaudy, garish, near obscene piece of garden art and has asked Santa, the one guy who can make something that crazy happen for him, to bring it for Christmas. Not a skateboard, scooter, trampoline, or basketball goal, but a water fountain! When will this ever happen again? When after this year will I have such a whimsical treasure to remind me of this beautiful moment in time? A time when my child chose art over the Avengers? The sound of running water over the sound of Angry Birds? Heck yes we're going to get it for him and we'll put it in the flower bed just outside the living room window by the koi pond and every December I'm going to string lights around it to celebrate innocence, individuality, and Faith.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
SIP's Prayer
Lately my four year old has been moving away from the usual "God is Great, God is Good..." blessing at meal times in favor of something more personal and relevant to his day. Tonight he prayed:
Dear God:
Thank you for the cross. We had a good day. But never say, "who cares?" because that's a bad word.
-Amen
Aren't children fabulous?
Dear God:
Thank you for the cross. We had a good day. But never say, "who cares?" because that's a bad word.
-Amen
Aren't children fabulous?
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