* A Halloween Observation

Yet another comment on the inherent difference between boys and girls. When my son was three I bought him this great pumpkin sweat suit to wear around Halloween. Nothing too over the top, orange pants and a jack-o-lantern face on the shirt. The orange hood has one small leaf on it. He was adorable. I have been waiting for some time for my daughter to fit into this outfit so I can have comparison pictures. Unfortunately she will have NOTHING to do with it. This is, I believe, related to the difference between three-year-old boys and girls. My son cared nothing about his clothes at three. His wardrobe was dictated completely by me, except for a few small statements by his father, such as "You can not dress him in sweater vests!" Years later he does have some opinions, mostly as it relates to the "coolness" of the object in question. Polo shirts? Uncool. Dragon shirts? Very cool. Unfortunately the school dress code does not allow for dragon shirts.

My daughter has a lot to say about her wardrobe. She is currently in denial of the fall and intentionally dresses in shorts and tank tops in the morning. This requires us to have conversations and wardrobe adjustments to leave the house. I will have to go in there and hide the summer clothes from her. This is a repeat of what I had to do last year. (Notice she has had opinions about her clothes for a long time) I happily got out the pumpkin outfit a few days ago. She refused - vehemently. I am still hoping to get a picture but my expectations are low.

Now if the pumpkin was only pink....

* Practicing Patience

Today I am practicing patience. Right now my son is finishing his school project. As I sit here I can hear cutting and I have no control over the outcome. I gave him the supplies and am sitting in another room. There are several things going through my mind right now...

• I truly want him to do this project on his own.
• I want him to be proud of it.
• I want him to take it to school tomorrow and do well. (I want the teacher to grasp that he did this himself while simultaneously being impressed)
• I must not go in there and take over....
• I miss school....
• I am such a nerd.

Goggles

"Distance makes the heart grow fonder". In other words, if you are away from your sweetie for an extended period of time, when you are together again, the initial time is so awesome.


I have heard this phrase for some 20 plus years now, and it is absolutely true. There was a similar phrase that kind of poked fun at it, and it can be summed up as "oggle goggles". For the men, I am sure you know what I mean. What this tries to represent is a description of how the beauty of your lovely tends to grow the more you are away from her. Alas, when you are back in her presence, the magnificant beauty is not near the glamour you thought she was.

I got home on Thursday evening, after a 3 week trip to China. All the way home, I kept thinking about Michelle, and how beautiful she was. I imagined my son and daughter (the cutest things in the world) running to tackle me once they saw me.

As usual, I was not disappointed. Michelle was as beautiful as always. The kids were just as excited to see me as I was them. There is nothing cooler than seeing your little ones take your bags away from you, and carry them themselves.

This is what it is all about. Not being disappointed with your spouse, ever. Wrestling with your little ones, because you want to, even though it is WAY past their bedtime. God is good, all the time.