happy saturday

I've been up since about six thirty, helping my dear sweet Timmy get ready for work (he has a big review today) and just puttering around on the Internet, enjoying the quietness that a sleepy house can bring.

Now, the house is roaring with life, breakfast has been fed, the television is set (loudly) to Food Network, and the boys are playing on the floor in front of me. And I'm having a hard time remembering what this house was like just a few hours ago.

Pretty soon our daily agenda will start, with the first thing on the list being me getting these boys started on their daily chores (and a few extra for Bob as part of his newly acquired punishment for something he did earlier in the week that still has me quite upset) while I tend to the laundry and the stack of dishes currently occupying a large portion of my kitchen counter.

After we get this house whipped back into shape we'll be heading off to run the outside errands that never seem to escape us.

But, the most exciting part of the day is the stuff in-between. The stuff that doesn't fit nicely on a "to do" list. The little moments between the kids, or the time that I spend with my dear children talking with them, teaching them, or (my favorite), playing with them. But, I often find that the events we remember the most are the ones that we don't plan. I won't remember a week from now how many loads of laundry I get done today, or what exactly I bought at the grocery store, but I will remember how sweet it was to see my boys sitting together playing a simple game of Memory on the floor in the living room, without arguing once. I'll also remember how my sweet Bob (still trying to suck-up and get out of his impending chore doom) was so kind and made breakfast for his brother and I. I'll also remember the time we shared, while eating breakfast, on the sofa watching Emeril and how proud I was with the boys ideas for coming up with vegan friendly options for all of his meat infused dishes.

I love my boys. The time we get to spend together never feels like enough. It always seems like we are too busy making it from one event to the next. Or, it's a stressed week night and we're busy with homework and next day preparations that we don't seem to notice the small things. Even the weekends, once school has started, seem like one giant blur of errands and catch-up events that a down day is few and far between.

Today, I am going to remember that we don't have to plan events to remember. That family time does not mean a trip to Disney World, or the movies, or even an evening at home with our favorite board game in front of us. Family time is any time we're together. Anytime we can share a moment and a story. Catch up on the weeks events. Share our ideas with one another. Even if it's while we're madly ripping through the grocery store, or in the car running from one errand to the next. What matters is that we're together, and that we're making the most of the time we have.