Coming Clean

I’ve spent the past two evenings with my eldest son at the park. It has been beautiful both nights.

The sun was setting behind the dam, painting the low-hanging feathered clouds pink, and setting the lake aflame with reflective fire. Josh swung back and forth, taking it all in, pointing out birds, dogs, the sky, and the moon.

Later as we ran through the park between trees, slopes, and the gazebo, Josh would stop and gaze upward pointing at the moon. I snuck up behind him and lifted him quickly in the direction of the moon saying, “I’ll throw you up to the moon!” Josh stiffened with nervous excitement. He looked at me with an anxious yet uncertain smile and said “I scared! I scared!” This both warmed and amused me as Josh was obviously telling me something personal and heart felt - which is not the norm in a two year old’s life. So we settled for trying to grab the moon and added jumping later to aid our efforts.

Josh also learned these nights to slide down the slide like a rocket as well as how to throw your arms wide and back and to scream as you run down a slope. The latter made for a lot of excitement, especially once I added snatching and a bit of wrestling to the game.

As full night drew near, we climbed back into the van and headed home pretty well tired out. These are two special days - days unlike the many I get to have with Josh. I doubt I’ll forget them, but I’m writing them down to make sure. Perhaps one day he’ll find them, and they’ll rise a memory or two to him as well.