These Days...

These days my mind swims with what I need to do, what I should be doing, what I must not forget to do, and what I have already forgotten to do.

If I'm not careful, I'm going to miss what they are doing.

These days Sam chuckles to himself but won't share what he's thinking.

These days Ben crawls into my chair at lunch just to be closer to me.

These days Maria litters the house with everything she can pull out of the bottom cupboards.

These days Ben literally bounces and points at himself with excitement when we pick Sam up from school as if to say, "Look Sam!  I'm here! You get to play with me again!"

These days Sam uses, "And by the way..."to start thoughts that should probably begin with "Hey guess what!"

These days Maria loves to wrestle, fall, giggle and squeal on our bed.

These days Ben asks for tea every morning.  But he only drinks 2 sips of it.

These days Sam ask questions about pain and suffering in the world that break my heart.

These days Maria bangs on the cupboard to say that she wants raisins.

These days Sam reads more than he eats.

These days Legos are my best friend.  And of course theirs too... I guess.

These days Ben asks Jonathan to take his shirt off and box with him.

These days Maria hears music, stops whatever she is doing, bounces and sways.

These days Sam remembers the score of any football game he's ever known about.  Not an exaggeration.

These days Maria is learning to kiss with a closed mouth rather than open.  "Mmmah!"

These days Ben finds it odd when a Christmas song doesn't mention Jesus.

These days Sam likes to hold his straw in the place that a tooth once held residence to drink his chocolate milk.  

These days Maria tips her head down, looks up at me through a furrowed brow, head-butts me and then throws her head back to laugh.

These days Sam and Ben sing different renditions of "Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg" over and over until I am begging them to find a different song to butcher.

These days Sam won't share about his day at school until after he's had a snack.

These days Ben almost breaks my nose at least once every day.

These days Ben still says "finded", "bringed", "writed", "drawed" and "runned".

These days Sam helps grown-ups choose their teams for the upcoming bowl games.

These days Maria needs to be held while I make dinner.

These days Sam and Ben are sent upstairs to rough house.

These days Maria's thin blonde hair is curly when she gets out of the tub.

These days Sam wants to know if he can get baptized with out being dunked under water.

These days the only time Ben asks for help is when he is at the end of himself and close to tears.

These days Maria climbs everything.

These days both boys hug me as long as they can at bedtime.

These days are good...