Why I Love My Children

I adore my girls. They are kind and sweet and brilliant and gorgeous. They are a joy to be around. But that seems rather vague. Hopefully, every parent loves their children for all the same reasons. Sometimes, my children drive me absolutely bonkers. You wouldn't believe how wicked my little cherubs can be! Sometimes, my heart swells and I love them soooo much that I have to catch my breath. This happens when the children don't know that I am watching. They are just "being", and they are wonderful. One of those times happened the other night.

Dan, Andre, and I were sitting on the deck after dinner. My girls and Sam were running around the backyard being noisy and doing all the things that kids do on lovely summer evenings. As the adults chatted about the price of houses and borrowing extension cords, I kept looking over at the children, ensuring that they were all behaving themselves.

I noticed Sam started playing with Sarah's ball. This is a very special ball. One day, Sarah and I had gone to Canadian Tire and she spotted a great big bin full of balls. They were only about $2. I told her she could pick one out and I would buy it for her. My baby was thrilled! That ball has been Sarah's pride and joy. And now Sam was playing with it.

Sarah noticed that Sam had the ball. She didn't say anthing, just hung back a little bit looking sad. Katie and Bethie noticed immediately. They asked Sam to return the ball to Sarah. He refused. Bethie ran and got him another ball that he could play with instead. That ball would not do, according to Sam. Katie asked Andre how to say "Give Sarah the ball" in French, and then repeated it back to Sam. But Sam would not budge. He wanted Sarah's ball. Andre stepped in and gave the ball to Sarah. Sarah grabbed it and ran to the safety of my legs. Sam cried, and Andre told him that if he cried then they would have to go home. Everything had gone to Hell.

I asked Sarah if Sam could share her ball. She said, "No share!". Dan pointed out to Sarah that Sam was crying. Sarah looked at her friend. Then she walked across the backyard to Sam and handed him her ball.

That is why I love my children. They look out for each other, and for other people. What more could I ask for?

Here's another (totally unrelated) reason I love my kids:

They are squishy and yummy!

PS I have photos of the twins taken at the same time, but they are not appropriate for the internet. They were equally squishy and yummy!