Teach me !!

So I had a long day this past Sunday , and I am sitting at the computer at 9 o'clock finally just taking a chill. A lot of stuff went on that day that kind of left me fried by the end of the night. I had talked with my boys that afternoon and let them know that I was upset with the fact that our family time seemed to be readily overlooked because it got in the way of their 'friend time'. I was also upset that I had to just take my dog to get put to sleep. I didn't want anyone around me when I was sitting at the computer, and I was hoping that peace would surround me the rest of the night. Then I hear a little voice from behind me say, " Dad?"
I am certainly not ready for this , and I immediately turn around thinking that one of the boys has gotten out of their beds to goof around. Then I blurt out these angry words,"Son...oh my fricken' gosh !! What do you want?"
I am ready to send someone into trouble land , and I am not having any of their craziness anymore tonight.
"I just wanted to tell you I am sorry for making you upset today," says my son, and then he gives me hug.
Okay....okay... I know, put a big JACKASS stamp on my forehead at this point and a dunce cap while you're at it. Oh.... and sit me in the corner of the classroom so I really learn my lesson. School is in session for this Daddio.
My heart immediately turns from one that is filled with anger to one of shame.
Bug lump in my throat and a , "Oh...Oh.....I love you honey and thank you for apologizing."
My son then turns and walks back in to his room to go to bed leaving me sitting in my chair wondering when I will ever learn to think before I react.
Isn't it funny sometimes what we learn from the littlest ones around us. All it takes is the willingness to sit and listen for a moment sometimes before we set judgement. It's funny how as a parent you think that you are going to be the one who is the teacher of all things to your kids, and so often times it is just the opposite. Their hearts lead us through this world and teach us everyday about the most important things of all: humility, love, and forgiveness.

Mother and Son

I am a paramedic and I have been riding my bike on and off to work for several years now. Recently, I have passed a mother and son several times at a bus stop as I m riding my bike by on the road. I see them together on an old wooden bench on the side of the road waiting for a bus. As I rode by the first time and saw them I didn't take much note of it but I saw and 6 to 7 year old boy resting with his head on his mom's legs. She was sitting upright on the bench and he was laying across the bench with his head using her legs as a pillow. She sat there looking straight ahead at nothing in particular but was using her hands to rub her sons back as he rested. I didn't even give it much thought the first time other than the fact that maybe the boy was simply tired and wanted to rest for a minute before they got on the bus. The next time I road my bike by the same place at about the same time I saw the two of them again on the same bench in the same exact positions doing the same thing as before. I stared at them as I rode by not because I thought they were abnormal or anything but because of what the mother meant to her son. It dawned on me at that moment that the first time I had seen them on the bench was probably not the first time that they had been there but possibly the hundredth or so. Maybe even more than that. Now the second time that I passed them she was still rubbing her sons back and he was still lying on her lap just taking it all in. He was as happy as could be lying right there with his mom while she soothingly rubbed back and forth with her fingers . This gesture by mom made me take account of what it really means to be a parent and the simplistic needs of a childs heart. The mother didn't have a lot of worldly possessions from what I could pick up , and she probably didn't even have a car to travel in. Hence the reason for them waiting for the bus. What she did have is something that neither money nor power nor fame can ever buy. Unconditional love for her son. This sort of scene reminds me to count my blessing everyday for my kids and also that it doesn't take the things of this world to make them happy. The bond between a parent and a child is not forged by TV, or computers, or gifts, or things but rather by time and effort. I remind myself every time that I think my kids or myself need more THINGS that no gift that I could ever give can be bigger or more important than my time and heart !