If you're not Maggie, you scratch your head and wonder what on Earth the child is talking about. But then she might point to her silky Asian pajama pants and repeat, urgently, "You been to Charna??"
And then I pause and think, "Charna, Charna... oh! CHINA!"
And answer, "Yes, Maggie! I've been to China!"
Maggie's in this stage of childhood where she literally takes my breath away sometimes. She's talking so well - in fact, I'm detecting a drawl in her little girl voice. We've been in Oklahoma too long, I guess!
Her skin, her facial development, her bright eyes... they all are stunning right now. There are times of development when my children go through stages where they really aren't that cute.
That is not where Maggie is right now.
It's at times like this that I sit back and realize just how blessed we are. Our children are healthy. They are intelligent. They are unbelievably sweet (today Maggie pushed a girl she didn't know on the swings... it seemed to me to be an unselfish act of service and I was so proud of her for doing it!).
Yes, there are tricky parts of parenting and they are also lesser demons on occasion. Yes, I lose my temper and feel overwhelmed and exasperated and impatient and so fully aware of all of my shortcomings....
But...
I'm so grateful for the moments when I stop and fully experience the joy I have in these children I have been given to steward. I just need to say it out loud sometimes... we are good parents. We have good kids. We aren't failing at this thing called life...
How sad is it that I get surprised by those statements?
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