This past weekend, I had just minutes to put away groceries, get the kids fed, and carpool my older daughter to a play date, when my 3 year old daughter, Chloe, decided that she needed to be held. As much as I love to hug my girls, this was just bad timing. I tried to ignore her request with the hope that she might get distracted. No luck. Chloe became more and more vocal about her need to Be. Held. NOW!
In my frustration, I asked her in an annoyed tone “Why do you need to be held right now, Chloe? Can’t you wait 5 minutes?”. Not my best parenting moment. What was I thinking? That Chloe would recognize my time crunch, see my logic, and reply: “Gee Daddy, I never really thought about it that way. Sure, I can wait 5 minutes”.
Instead my three-year-old went for the jugular. With outstretched arms, a tear in her eye, and a whine in her voice she replied “I need to be held right now because I love you, Daddy”.
Fast forward sixty seconds. There I am, holding Chloe in one arm while putting away the rest of the groceries with the other. Chloe is supervising my efforts and managing the process–the Teddy Grahams must be stored on the lowest shelf of the pantry where she can reach them.
I had to laugh at myself. I am amazed at how easily I can lose sight of what is really important, and I’m glad my family is there to keep me focused! Of course, Chloe isn’t the only kid with an incredible sense of “love logic” and wisdom beyond her years. See how other young children defined love in this article. Some of my favorites are:
“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” ~Tommy, age 6
“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” ~Chrissy, age 6
You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” ~Jessica, Age 8
I hope you enjoy the really important things this weekend,
~Bob
P.S. Two “important things” we’ll be celebrating are the birthdays of our Carrier Reps Pam Carrier (Sunday) and Mary Nichols (Tuesday). Happy Birthday to both of you!
