Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Spray paint, chocolate sauce and silly string

The parts of my hair that were not covered in pink, green and blue spray paint were caked with ketchup and chocolate sauce, my arsenal of Redi-whip securely hung in my tool belt, my tomb raider size water guns were snug in my grasp as I snuck around the side of the house hunting down my pint size adversary who was ready to launch anything sticky and sweet in my direction.  Then I felt it hit me on the back of my head, its liquid slithering its way down my back.

A tomato…

Really?
It was war, flipping the safety on my squirt guns that were no match for the rapid fire water balloons that were being launched from the sniper fire behind the bushes.

And then
The ground began to rumble, the thunder grew closer, peeling the silly string away that was obscuring my vision

It was something big
It was something purple

It looked like Barney, but it had four legs
Headed straight for me

I dove for cover
And then it was on top of me

Drool dripping down my face
You painted the dog purple!!?

Your mother is never going to let me babysit again.
Laughter erupting from his little belly as he lay on the ground in a heap of giggles while I surveyed the pool of rubble that surrounded us on the front lawn.

How did these moments become so few and far between?
When did I lose sight of these simple things?  Did I ever have sight of them to begin with?  

These simple moments when nothing else mattered than how much chocolate sauce, whip cream and silly string we could fire off at one another.  When my to do list sat unattended on the counter, when I rejoiced and was glad in the moment God had given me, when I was fully present in the moment.
It will not be the clean closet or perfectly vacuumed carpet that will be remembered.

Whatever it was that I was sitting at my computer working on that was a really big deal to me at the time will long be forgotten. 
It will be those moments of spray paint, chocolate sauce and silly string that will be locked away in our memories that will be reminisced and laughed about over family dinners.

Matthew 18:3
And I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This doesn’t mean I should to shirk my responsibilities; working is good, the Bible tells us we must work and we must work like we are working for Jesus, but the song Cats in the Cradle is ringing through my head right now.

I have not fully taken hold of this yet, but I don’t want to take this life or myself too seriously that there aren’t enough of these moments or that I let them so carelessly slip from my grasp when they are given to me. 
I let my mind wander to when he is a grown man and he will say to me

Auntie Kandi remember the time of spray paint, chocolate sauce and silly string…
And I reply, “Yes baby I do”

It is those moments that will be remembered.

7 comments:

  1. Hi Kandi - I can picture it. You write so descriptively. You are so right, those are the moments you're going to remember. I need to find more of those. God bless
    Tracy

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  2. Thank you for this reminder, Kandi, Those are the moments we cherish and remember. I want my son to remember the many times we embraced the moment.

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  3. Kandi, your words brought tears to my eyes. My oldest are 19 (twins) and my baby is almost 14. Time goes by so quickly! The Cat in the Cradle song has been playing in my head too. I have been trying to be more purposeful in spending time doing things with my youngest. Like you said, he won't remember the clean house and hot food. He will remember the times he had my undivided attention. Great post!

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  4. What a great thing to be able to remember! Some things can wait while times like this can't. I am so glad you will be able to remember some very precious moments. It shows the love we have for one another and that is what it is all about, loving one another. I think Jesus was in the middle of all this.

    Blessings to you, Kandi.

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  5. I was laughing as I read, then you had me crying. Our children grow up so quickly. That time is so precious. As you said, they will remember those fun times and all the laughter. Thank you for this wonderful post!

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  6. What a wonderfully fun picture you painted for us Kandi! :-)

    As our boys grow up, we're very careful to balance our adult responsibilities with making those memories that our boys will carry with them into their futures.

    Great reminder!

    Have a Blessed Day!

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  7. I love the quote by Robert Brault, "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." It is so true! :) The real memories we make and remember are made from the valuable time we spend and share with our loved ones.
    Great reminder! :)
    Denise

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