It's the simple gestures...

I know. I know. It's been awhile. Life happens. It really, really does in my house. I love to blog and am thinking about starting a new blog (sort of a "do over") soon. Until then, I've missed writing my thoughts, and today was as good of a day as any to tell the world about some of my memories. So, here it goes... Enjoy!


For the past few days the boys have been whiny, mouthy, and just not themselves. I was blaming a nasty combination of heat, growth spurts, molars coming in, and being withheld from playing outside from sun-up to sun-down. Quite honestly, these boys would live outside if I let them. It’s not that they have been “bad,” but they haven’t been the best listeners either.

Earlier today, we watched Camden, and I must say, watching my two boys interact with my nephew makes me the happiest mom in the entire world. The words they use to encourage and calm Camden melt my heart. I caught Graden reading to him, and Landen tries every day to teach him to crawl by demonstrating how Camden should “just put your leg up.” After Camden left, they helped me with laundry (without asking!) and told me stories about a rabbit we saw in our backyard. Their imaginations grow every second!

This afternoon, despite the rain, I decided it was time to mow the yard, and so, I let them play outside for a bit. After a few passes, I look up to see Graden jumping up and down while Landen simply smiled his “IswearIdidn’tdoit” face. I stopped the mower, and as I walked towards them, Landen pulled a cup of water from behind his back. He said, “Mommy, it’s hot out. We thought you should drink water.” Of course, they definitely earned nice points for this gesture. I got back to mowing with a smile.

A few more passes were made, and I was beginning to wonder how smart it was to mow between rain clouds. I heard the boys giggling. Yes, loud enough that I heard their laughter over the mower. I turned to find them directly behind me pretending to mow, too. They followed for a few passes until they found a shady spot to rest and watch me. All I could do was smile. Again.

You may not find these simple gestures as pleasing or heart-warming as I do; however, the best is yet to come. As I finished mowing, I pushed the mower back to the garage. I was dripping sweat and had damp grass caked to my legs. I was thinking how much I needed to clean the garage quick before going inside, but as I turned the corner, I saw that Landen and Graden had already cleaned the garage. And, by “clean” I don’t just mean that they picked up their toys. Landen had swept and proudly told me that he told Graden to get the trash picked up. Of course, it wasn’t a ton of trash, but still. Another gesture of how thoughtful my two boys are to me.

And, now, as I type this, I’m listening to them play in the bathtub. They’re getting to big to be in the tub together, but they were a sweaty mess and wanted to play as much as they needed to clean. I hear Landen saying things like, “Graden, just close your eyes. Water doesn’t hurt. You’ll be okay. Good job. See! You’re doing it!” Who knows what he’s making Graden do, and honestly, I’m not sure I care. What I care about is that my boys continue to treat each other and others exactly like this. Every day. Forever.