Family Time

I’ve noticed a change in myself recently.  I mean, one can try to ignore the fact that one has a third arm growing out of one’s forehead, but…  Er, wait…sorry. That’s not the change I meant to disclose here.  Allow me to try again.

I have a family now.  Which isn’t to say I haven’t always, or that I didn’t almost eight years ago when I got married, or after Linnaea was born…  But my family, the one that I helped create and for which I am responsible, is now its own entity.  It has become more than just me and my wife; or us and our daughter, or son and daughter.  The kids now outnumber the adults.  The animals are no longer our children.  We have an ecosystem and a social structure.  And you know something really awesome?  We all fit on the loveseat together.

Sunday wound up being a long day.  With the Blessing of the Lake, we didn’t get home from church until mid-afternoon.  The kids were tired and hungry, I developed a nasty headache that shut me down, and after I had the kids down for their naps, I crashed.  Hard, apparently, as it was 9:00 when Julia sent the kids in to roust me.  We wound up ordering pizza for dinner, not really having anything else on hand and not feeling motivated enough to do anything about it.  By the time we settled in to eat, nestled comfortably in front of some Fraggle Rock, it must have been close to eleven.

Two episodes later, there was a very real need for me to get the kids in bed so I could follow suit, having to get up early for work in the morning.  But even though it was after midnight, I didn’t want to pull the curtain on the silly fun we were having, piled on the couch.

When Linnaea was born I was amazed at how much I loved my daughter.  The love of a parent is unfathomable before one has children.  It changes you.  And each child creates in you an equally amazing love – different, as each child is unique, but no less and no more.  I daresay I have some appreciation for God’s love for His creation, which is as it should be, being that we were created in His image.  And now that I have a family, there is a richness, a depth I did not perceive before.

I cherish these most precious times that we get to spend together in play.  I know that they will change as the years quickly elapse.  I find myself being a little less selfish, making choices that allow for family instead of my own personal wants, which simply no longer have the same appeal.  I am more protective, needing to safeguard myself as well as the family.  The thought of the loss of any one of us, as best as I can imagine, staggers me.

And so I relish the time I have with my family, and the gift that they are.  I pray that life will continue to be this good, for many years.