Stop With the Grind

This week is CRAZY insane with all there is to accomplish. (Btw, in case you didn't know, it's wacky Wednesday - even though it's Monday (or was) - so Sister put her clothes on inside out and backwards.) I have prayed that God would make the hours long and my hands and mind fast. He has been so faithful. I am so thankful.

I got Sister off to school, fed and dressed the baby and Little Man, and made it to CVS, Target, Michaels, Ross, Walmart, and Sams all in time to pick Sister up at 12 noon. Sweet. That, that my friends, is a miracle. Mind you, I had very orderly lists and was quite intentional, but still. That just does not happen with little ones. That was a God thing.

So when we got home I had a carload to carry in. I made the children help. When they complained, I said, "you don't work, you don't eat." They jumped right in. Sister even put things away for me. Hooray! Oh the blessings of helpful children!

And as I scurried here and there trying to sort through the bags, Sister and Little Man set up a picnic for us. It was grand. Walmart bags as placemats...an entree of fruit and pickles...delish!

Sunday night Sister told me I might not believe her, but her imaginary friends help her with her sight words. (This is a list of words that can't be sounded out...hence the name "sight" words.) I smiled big at her and assured her I believed her and then reminded her of my invisible friends from my childhood. There was my husband Rick and our daughters Peggy and Rachel.

So when Sister had to get three extra plates for our picnic today, you can guess who joined us.

Little Man even got them Capri Suns (which is a HUGE treat around here.) Now, this whole Rick thing is kind of weird, considering I am a grown, for real married woman. However, in a series of tragic events following lunch, Rick died and Peggy fell, skinning both her knees, and got paralyzed. I suppose those awkward moments with Rick are over for now. We laid him to rest in a tiny grave, complete with flowers, behind the fort.

But, I'm rambling. So back to the picnic...

Bo Bear ate his pickles. Thank goodness!

See those eggs in the background? I bought 24 exactly for a church Easter egg hunt. I don't like plastic eggs and I don't like to keep them. These 24 were neatly packaged. I left the kitchen to put toiletries away and came back to Sister, squatting over a pile of eggs. With a beaming face and giant smile she announced she'd laid some eggs!

So back to the picnic...the whole time I sat there eating I saw the piles of groceries...and they cried out to me, but so did my children.

Our picnic lasted ten minutes.

And I'm so glad I stopped putting away, to picnic with Sister and Little Man - and Rick and Peggy and Rachel. All the stuff was there when we were finished. And for ten minutes, I got a little glimpse into their wildly wonderful imaginations. And they LOVED it that I sat on the floor and ate what they'd prepared. I think I saw Sister's heart beaming in her eyes. It was so worth it. Why, in the midst of the grind of life, don't I see that more often? Why don't I take those moments more often? Why don't I seize them? That ten minutes was the highlight of my day.