Cowboy Boots

Caleb loves his cowboy boots. He wears them everywhere and doesn't seem to care what he wears them with. Last summer he would wear them with cotton shorts with the tops of the boots hitting just below his knees. Last week he wore them to Isaiah's bus stop thinking he was pretty cool all the while fighting the elastic from the bottom of his sweatpants that was not wanting to stay pulled over his boots. Just today, he decided to wear his polyester Optimus Prime costume with his cowboy boots around the neighborhood because Optimus Prime just isn't very cool without boots.

It hit me today how much I have enjoyed watching my kids just be kids. To be reminded of my own childhood by watching my kids play and imagine brings me great joy. But the thing I love most about it is that they don't care what other people think about them in their torn costumes and worn boots. They don't care about the fact that sweatpants and boots just don't go together. The only thing that Caleb's three year old mind is concerned with is that his cowboy boots give him the power to be the superhero that not only saves the world, but also rescues his mom from the big, green aliens.

I'm not fooling myself though. There will come day when the costumes will be put away and the boots will no longer fit. I will no longer get to pretend that the aliens are attacking me and the only person who can rescue me is Caleb, my superhero, with the worn out cowboy boots.

So my prayer, as life gets hectic and has a tendency to get in the way of my best intentions, is to enjoy my children. I don't want to look back and wonder what happened and feel like I wasted this precious time. I want to look back and be thankful that I took the time.