Timing

Today I was blessed to spend my afternoon with a nearly-three-year-old. What a great kid. I was quickly reminded, however, that in the presence of children, one's own agenda falls by the wayside.

I really needed to get groceries, but the puzzles and books I had set out were so much more enticing. Just when we were about to go to the grocery store, my little friend asked me to read a book to him. How could I resist? So read we did. Grocery store waited.

We got to the grocery store and my little friend spotted the shopping cart with the car on the front that kids can ride in. Wow. It was like Christmas! So we took our time maneuvering the gigantor cart through the aisles, and even stopped in the "pits" (aka cheese section of the store) to fix a "blown tire." We took time. We played at the grocery store. It wasn't rushed.

Two blocks from home, I saw his eyes falling shut. He didn't have a nap that day and was completely out by the time I pulled into my driveway. I snuck into the house to put the bag of cold stuff in the fridge, then I grabbed a book and sat in the car with my little friend for an hour while he napped.

I didn't clean the bathroom, or pick the green beans, or sweep the front step, but I was there to meet the wants and needs of a kid. That's timing I can live with.