never the same old same old

On Sunday mornings I take my children out for donuts and chocolate milk before church. This has become a bit of tradition in the Smith household, and has the added benefits of motivating everyone (at least the kids and me) out the door so mom is not late for worship practice. We travel the same route through the store and you would think that all of these Sunday mornings would blend into one another, but for some reason they don't. Each Sunday morning looks exactly the same, but motivated by kids who never see the sameness in any of our time together I have become more in tune with the nuances of these trips that make them individually memorable.

For example, this morning I learned something about my youngest. Her brother asked (in a sickeningly sweet voice) if she was going to share part of her donut with him. She shook her head yes (mouth full of donut of course) and broke her remaining donut in half. She looked over the pieces she had broken and I could see the wheels turning. Looking from piece to piece she calculated which piece was the largest (they were close in size, but one was just a little larger). She turned over the smaller piece to her brother and continued chomping. I could see that she was proud of herself - both for sharing and keeping the biggest piece for herself. I was also proud of her - both for sharing and keeping the biggest piece for herself. I learned that she is already learining to both be true to and stand up for herself.

I am so thankful for a wife and kids that really do appreciate the smallest of moments. They motivate me to look beyind the sameness of everyday life and find that one memory that I want to carry with me all the time.