Once upon a time a young dad and a young mom were busy changing diapers, folding laundry, picking up toys, reading books over and over again, and making meals for a four. a three, and a one-year-old.
Occasionally they remembered that it had been just the two of them once. They knew it in their minds but not as much in their hearts. The daily triage of three kids in three years took all their energy. Warm fuzzies for each other were hard to remember, and much harder to do .
Yet they knew they liked each other. So even though the budget was tight, they set aside a little money each month for two years so that on their 10th anniversary they could fly away without their children.
Yes, without children. Even though they loved the children with all of their hearts. Even though they had hoped for, and longed for, and prayed for these children, they dropped them off at grandma and papa’s house for a week and fly to San Diego.
The young couple cooked meals for two, walked to the beach, visited the zoo, found living sand dollars, and climbed the steps of a lighthouse. They watched skateboarders, surfers, and some seals.
They had time to go to the beach and read or write or just lie there. Except she forgot her pen. He leapt up and said, “I’ll go get it for you.” And he did. Just like that. Just like he used to.
And she remembered just how much he loved her. She remembered the faded warm fuzzies. She felt loved.
Twenty years later she is looking at the pictures from this trip and she thinks, “They look so happy. So young. So in-love. Look how easy it was”
But then she calculated how old her kids would have been. She remembered the daily triage of meeting the needs of three kids and she remembered the pen story. Twenty years later she remembered that little kindness. There are many details that she doesn’t remember about that trip. But she remembers that little kindness.
And now she knows that that little kindness wasn’t little.
#mondaysbymidnight series
