His Turn

I'm living in a new land of nice called "Just One Child at Home." Each of my children prior took a turn living in this land with me. Because our children are spaced farther apart, I've been afforded the luxury to indulge in one-on-one time with them - which bears the invaluable fruit of observation, understanding, and appreciation of the finer things in life...while they're still a mere two feet tall.

One of my favorite daily times with them have been walks to school. First, it was just Grace. Then came Elijah's turn last year when, thanks to the many advantages of half-day kindergarten, I got to stroll with just him every mid-day. Now, I walk them both every morning with our last little duck straggling behind or clutching my forefinger, slapping through puddles and pointing out every bird with his customary "Tweet tweet" proclamation. Sometimes, we walk backwards. Others, on piggyback. He cries, "Ush! Ush!" when it's time to open the garage door remote and takes great joy in collecting "jetters": those "treasures" he finds streetside along the way. On this day, it was a fallen leaf and a dropped quarter discovered at the base of his favorite slide.

Yes, on the way, there are three.
But, on the way back, it's him and me.
Hand in hand.
His turn.