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May 16, 2007
Family Outing
Doesn't matter where you go for family time--it's the being together that counts, right? And the children will remember time spent as a family, no matter how ordinary the destination. For us, a trip to the grocery store isn't much more than a field trip with all four kiddos along. We're quite a sight, and we get lots of looks and stares. There's the baby in his seat in the back of the cart, the two-year-old in the front, one child riding underneath the cart, and one walking with me. And we have so much fun (well, usually...).
Last Friday we took a little jaunt over to our alma mater, Bob Jones University (strange name for a school, I know), to have a picnic and let the children run around. They have a nice gazebo there with tables and chairs, perfect for a rainy weather dinner outside. I love picking the kids' brains days after an event to see what details they remember, and to get their child's-eye-perspective on what we did. Micah remembered "the race car that went backwards." Bear in mind, much of what the boys talk about has something to do with the Cars movie. So to Micah, a speeding car backing up really fast is a lot like Lightning McQueen. One of the boys remembers that we had "no water," even though it was raining torrentially that night. That's exactly why we had nothing to drink. I didn't want to brave the raindrops to go find a water fountain. The gazebo was shaped like a hexagon, as most of them are, and that's a detail Benjamin will always notice. If you know him, that's no surprise, is it? They remember our simple supper of rice and beans--not the usual picnic menu, I know--with no idea that eating beans every night is not supposed to be normal. We could hardly stifle our chuckles when Micah said we were at "Bomb Jones."
I love kids. The most mundane things can become treats to them, and they don't know the difference. When you don't have a lot of money to spend, it seems like there's a lot more love to go around. The dinners of beans and rice seasoned with thankfulness and love are indeed so much sweeter than a table bowing from the weight of food mixed with bitterness and strife.
Posted by lhyink at May 16, 2007 12:40 PM
Comments
Isn't Micah talking about Mater going backwards not Lightning McQueen? Really, Laurie, are you watching these movies? =)Just joking, if it is a "race car" going backwards it probably is Lightning McQueen. The "Bomb Jones" thing is cute.
Posted by: Kimberly Swait at May 25, 2007 09:32 PM