Soak It In

Lately, I've become increasingly aware that our time as a family of 5 under the same roof is becoming short.  Sam is 3 1/2 years away from college.  Boy, that freaks me out.  I keep thinking of all the things we need to teach him before he lives out on his own.

Sunday night was a gift.  All 5 of us were downstairs in the kitchen and living rooms bustling around. Ryan was teaching Sam how to do his laundry.  B and I were making dinner.  I was making cookies for a group of my teachers who won a game last week.  Zac was wandering around, hanging out with us without a specific purpose.  Google home was playing music from Disney movies.  We were all singing. B was dancing.  We were all laughing together.

I tried to pause often to soak it in.

All five of us sat at the table to enjoy B's dinner of Crimson Chin-ken Nuggets from his Nickelodeon cookbook and green beans.  I can not remember what we talked about at dinner but I do remember just enjoying it.

After dinner, Sam and I were back in the kitchen. I was trying a recipe for healthy energy bites and finishing the winner's cookies.   Sam was making a skillet chocolate chip cookie.  He'd seen a video on it and asked me to get the ingredients when I was at the store earlier that day.

While the cookie cooked, we spread out but no one went to their room.  B and I were in the office. I was working on some Silhouette cutting projects, he was writing a book. A few minutes later, Sam came in to finish up his driver's test paperwork.  Ryan and Zac watched football.  Sam's cookie turned out wonderfully.  It was warm and gooey and I was so glad I'd gotten the vanilla ice cream.

Later, after everyone had gone to bed  and I was cleaning the kitchen I told Ryan, "This was the best. I had such a good time cooking, singing, and being silly as a family."

There were points in the night when I could have ruined it.  When B and I were cooking, he took his shirt off instead of just pushing up his sleeves.  I decided to roll with it.  When Sam started making his cookie, I resisted the urge to take over and do it my way. Those things are hard for me.  I love to cook and bake.  I love to have things my own way.  I could have told B to stop jumping up and down on the stool when he was dancing to Moana songs.  I could have told the boys that the music was too loud.  Ryan could have told us all to knock it off.

But none of those things happened.  And it was perfect.  We were perfectly silly and happy to be around each other.  And for that, I am thankful.

I know that everyone's life is busy but God has placed people in your life to love.  Today, try to put aside some of your 'to dos' and soak them in.  Pause a minute and watch them.  Enjoy them.