I hear these words about 57,000 times a day ~ no joke! From both boys. It started maybe a month or so ago (possibly a bit longer). Really it started farther back....indulge me in the back story. Troy is the best husband and father...no, I really mean THE BEST! He rolls out of bed, showers, and gets dressed for work. Usually by the time he is done, the boys are in bed with me and we are snuggling watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (or sometimes Chuggington if they bless us with an early wake-up). He then bundles both in his arms and changes diapers, as well as gets breakfast going for them while I get ready for the day. Neither Troy nor I are early risers. Needless to say, I don't have much time in the morning to get ready and am rushing like a mad dog! By the time I make it out to the kitchen, it is pretty close to the time Troy has to leave so I don't dry my hair until after he is gone. The boys will finish breakfast and sometimes I sit with them playing with toys or watching tv. One morning (as I had always done) I told them I was going to dry my hair. Braden came and said, "I come! I come!" He ran to me as fast as he could and grabbed my hand as we walked down the hallway. Of course, Hunter came too (brother see, brother do). So this was going on for several months and no biggie. Fast forward to 'maybe a month or so ago'... I am going to my bedroom to get a book or something and I didn't tell them I was leaving, I just thought I'll sneak back there and they will play with toys and I hear Braden anxiously screaming, "I COME! I COME!" So I waited and he came. He grabbed my hand so tightly and of course, Hunter came and grabbed the other. We got what I needed and went back to the living room. And he and brother have come ever since. I must admit at first I thought, "seriouly, I will be back in 5 seconds". But just as fast as that thought entered my mind, so did another. Another that was "someday in the not too distant future they may not always want to walk with you...they will want independence and freedom...as that is part of growing up". So right then in the hallway, while holding the most precious hands, I decided that each moment of "I Come" would be dearly cherished. Even now I am wiping tears, knowing that as Braden and Hunter read this one day, for them it may be an entertaining story....for me a precious memory that I will wish and long to have just one more minute of.
I don't exactly remember when "I Help" started, but maybe 1 1/2 - 2 months?? Everything I do, whether carrying a bag, putting on my shoes, picking up toys, buckling them in their carseats...EVERYTHING... they want to help. I don't ever want to squash that in them...I want them to be kind, caring, compassionate men ~ who know how to serve others out of the kindness of their hearts. If I say "no, mommy can do it" or don't encourage them in any capacity, I don't know if that fire will be able to be lit again. I'm not saying it couldn't.... but their sweet little hearts want to help me and feel the need to vocalize it. I, in turn, feel the need have the responsibility to cultivate it and stoke that fire until it is a raging flame.
Are there moments that I think "seriously?...this is the 58th time today and we haven't had lunch yet", you bet. But hearing the pitter-patter of their precious feet run across the living room floor and grab my hand or them helping me put my shoe on gives me just enough pause to remind myself that of everything in my life I have done or will ever do, being a mother is the most important..... and by far the most rewarding.
Until I write again,
