Sidling Up

It's been a long, busy week around here.  My mind has been elsewhere for most of it.  The requests from the kids to do any number of things have been endless.  It's been a week of "Not now," "In a minute," and "Please quiet down."  It breaks my heart, but the reality is that sometimes life is just like that.  We deal with things that are outside of our control, and while we can't let them control us, they do consume much of our time and attention.  Some days are bad days.  Some days are busy days.  There's no way around it.

But when those days pass, I need to let them pass. Put them behind me.  My kids have been clamoring for my attention again today.  There have been plenty of requests to play, color pictures, read a book.  I'm trying hard to meet the needs in a reasonable way.  But more than that, my kids just seem to want me today.  All three of them have sidled up to me, pressed their little bodies against mine, and stood there waiting.  I'm so thankful I noticed and didn't brush them off.  I wrapped my arms around them and held them close for just a few seconds.  They beamed as they skipped away.

Some days all we need is to sidle up, wait expectantly, and know that those warm arms will be wrapped around us; know that we will leave feeling secure, content, loved.

Hmmm...  Maybe my children aren't so different from me after all.