Where the Green Grass Grows...

Since his cell phone and iPad privileges have been temporarily suspended for the past couple of days for his behavior in Language Arts, we've been seeing a lot more of Devin.  It's like I have my other son back!  I watched from the sunroom windows yesterday afternoon as he and and his little brother wrestled on the trampoline, fully expecting a fight to break out any minute when someone was accidentally hurt. 


But it never happened. 


They just kept wrestling, laughing, and being boys until they finally came inside where Dracen tried to convince me he had frost bite.  And I tried to convince him that while I didn't doubt his feet were really cold, he did not have frost bite because it was 48 degrees outside. Which by the way, is entirely too cold for these parts this time of year.  And it is in the 20s this morning! Brr.


After supper last night we all played a game of Yahtzee.  That I won.  Woot! But just for the record, I would never actually say "Woot" out loud. And later, when Charlie and I were watching t.v. in the living room, we were ambushed by a couple of ninjas who both could benefit from a lesson in stealthiness, especially the little one. 


It reminded us of the good ol' days, back when it was a pretty common thing to see two boys whiz by you in full costume.


Then Devin "hid" under the bed as I read to Dracen at bedtime.  As if I didn't know he was under there. Will they ever learn to stop underestimating my super intuitive mom powers? After the battle of getting the Idea Man (Charlie's new nickname for Dracen) tucked cozily into his bed for the night, Devin actually sat with us in the living room until his bedtime.  I swear I may never give his stuff back!


Because it is really nice to have him back.  


I've been feeling lately like it's all just happening too fast...like time is getting by me and there's nothing I can do to stop it.  I catch myself thinking about how Devin will have his driver's license in just four years and how Dracen (my baby!) will be in middle school when that happens and I just want to shout to the heavens, "Slow Down! Pleeease! Just Slow Down!"  


But that is the one thing none of us have ever figured out how to do, isn't it? To slow down time. 


When we're younger we just can't seem to get it to go by fast enough as we continually anticipate and count down the days until we can get our license, graduate high school, finish college, land our dream job, get married, have kids, struggle as we try to figure out how to get through the cruelties and storms that life deals us and to just.be.happy.  


I used to be one of those people who always saw the grass as being so much greener on the other side of that fence but I know now that I wouldn't want any other grass than that which God has so graciously given me. 


Because it's my grass. 


And while I sometimes wish I could keep it just the way it is right now, before the changing seasons alter it once again, I know that I can't do that. Not even with my super intuitive mom powers. So instead I'm going to keep nurturing it, appreciating it and loving it for what it is right now because I know that it will change again tomorrow.  


But I also know that no matter what, it will always be the greenest grass I know.