Today is my favorite day of the year–it’s the day the kids go back to school! Each year, when this blessed Monday arrives, I’m like a kid on Christmas. I pop out of bed at 4:30 am, ready to greet the day. In my house, it’s tradition that I make a big family breakfast on Saturdays, Sundays, and The First Day of School.
So this morning, as per our annual tradition, I fried some bacon in a pan and poured tall glasses of milk for my 15-year-old, Denver, and my 6-year-old, Timothy (we fondly call him “Timbo”). The boys sat down at the table just as I was pouring the pancake batter on the griddle.
Seeing them dressed in their new school clothes, their backpacks filled to the brim with school supplies at their sides, it brought a tear to my eye. I can hardly believe that my baby is an eager first-grader, and my eldest is a high school student already dreaming about next year when he’ll turn 16 and be able to drive his 1992 convertible 5.0 Mustang to school instead of taking the school bus.
But, I quickly remembered that they’re still kids at heart when they began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Seeing an opportunity to jump start their first day of learning, I decided to impart a moral lesson. This summer, my youngest went to Vacation Bible School for a week while visiting his grandparents in North Carolina. Ever since, he’s enjoyed reading the stories in his illustrated children’s Bible all the more.
In the spirit of the summer’s learning, I said: “If Jesus were sitting here at the breakfast table, He would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.'”
My little Timbo looked over at his older brother and said: “Okay, Denver, you can be Jesus!”
Talk about the flip side!
Cartoon Credit: Chris Britt
