There are times when I am overcome with love for my children. I just want to hold them and feel the warmth of their flesh against mine.
There are other times when they do things that make me revert to drill sergeant mode. I wanted to see “Up”, the new Pixar movie. I had timed it out so that we had time to get to the theater. I gave them several warnings that it was time to get their shoes on. I look into the living room and they are on the floor, looking at something JMan made. Sergeant Rock made his aappearance.
Bookzilla gets her shoes on and starts to go for the white board marker. “Don’t touch it. Go to the car.” I put too much steel into those words. JMan gets to the car and we start out. Silence. Is Dad really that angry? I need to lighten the mood. I ask Bookzilla about her classes for next year. She says that she is taking Spanish. I say, “Let me see if I can count to ten in Spanish”. I get to 5 and get lost. JMan takes over and counts to 20. Bookzilla chimes in. They are soon chatty again and horsing around with each other while we wait in line for tickets at the theater.
There are times that I dearly love them. There are other times when I want to roar. But there are more times when I take a step back and see how blessed I really am.