Five Minute Friday: Here

This week I'm again participating in Five Minute Fridays at Kate Motaung's blog, (after another long hiatus) encouraging bloggers to write on a prompt unedited for five minutes.  This week's prompt: Here

START

I think I said it about over a hundred times yesterday.

"Come here"
"Over here please"
"Please stay here"
"Just wait here a minute"
"We are playing here now, we can go over there together later"

and about every other variation.

Managing three young kids at an indoor hotel waterpark is no small task for me.  Life jackets, towels, walk don't run, slides, kids jumping in wanting to be caught, carrying tubes, and making sure they stayed together.  Yet we had fun playing while Dad worked.

All afternoon and evening, I was "here" with the kids, present and away from distractions that can fill our days at home: chores, cooking, dishes, emails, etc.  Instead we laughed, splashed, swam, and wore each other out until all three kids were camped out on a hotel bed watching cartoons before bedtime.

I want them to know I'm here for each of them, ready to help when they fall, cheer when they try hard, the person to come to when they hurt or sad, or just need to talk.  Building that trust and connection is work for any parent, yet feels like a more intentional task when kids join your family not at their start.

I want to be here, in the moment, with them.  I want to witness their days  I want to a part of their everyday moments and hear their silly stories.  And as I am with them in the here and now, the day-to-day, I pray to find ways to connect them to the One who witnessed their past and holds their future.

END