a faith observed: Happy teeth?

Monday, March 1, 2010

Happy teeth?

It’s amazing how much fun choosing a DVD can be with a two and a half year old boy. Oh the possibilities!
“Look mommy! Elmo!”
But quickly his excitement turned serious.
“Don’t want this one. It’s a little bit scary, he has funny eyes.”
Then he saw Little Red Tractor,
“Get this one later. Man has funny teeth. Not little red tractor, just man.” According to Simon, half of the cartoon characters at the video shop have funny eyes and funny teeth. He finally settled on a cute race car named Speedy and said,
“Get this one, it’s my favorite one (although he’s never seen it before!) Mommy, what’s his name?"
I told him, "We’ll have to watch and see."
“Oh!!!! Yippee! You like this one. He has happy eyes, and happy teeth too.”

While I was checking out the video Simon wandered over to the candy section and returned with a chocolate in his hand.
"Look mommy, treats!"
Oh no, I thought, be strict. It's almost five o'clock and he really shouldn't have "treats" before bed. Say no.

I braced myself. But he didn’t beg me for it instead he said, “I got this one in my stocking, from mommy, at Christmas. He had gotten that candy – the boy has a crazy, amazing memory that blows us away. We are constantly stunned by what he remembers.

I'm just glad I remembered "funny teeth" because that's too good of insight into my little boy's brain to forget.

2 comments:

Marge said...: So fun to hear of your "adventures" with Simon. Glad that you are able to do some special things with him and that he is so cute in all of the things he comes up with!! Give him a big hug for me!!; March 1, 2010 at 9:19 PM
Judith said...: Oh how fun!! Thanks for the wonderful commentary of your little guy's adventures.
I love you all.; March 1, 2010 at 10:07 PM

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This is me, a faith observed.

C.S. Lewis writes about the pain of losing his beloved wife, Joy, in his book, "A Grief Observed". In some ways this is my attempt to share my journey through grief and back into life, as the past nine months have been characterized by an immeasurable longing for my beloved father, who died suddenly this past January.

After months of hibernation from the internet, I unexpectedly find myself able to re-begin this blog and connect with my larger community of family and friends. This blog will likely reflect less of the intensity and depth of my pain and more of the simplicity and ordinary joy that keeps my life full - namely days running after our little boy, Simon Pierre. But it is because of the incredible love and presence that defined my relationship with my father, that I feel I can will myself to not just survive each day but to pour that same kind of love and attention onto Simon.

My father was an endless source of strength to me, a pillar of faith. His last words, spoken to my mother as he passed into that which is unseen, "God is good - good all the time", have remained with me through this dark cloud of grief. And when God seems hidden, when justice seems to be losing out, when life is unfair, and when death swallows up the one I most love, I remember my father's words and breathe in this promise, that the God of love is in the process of restoring that which has been destroyed.

And as my father told me in dream I've had since his death, "Look to Jesus. As a father, to point you towards Him is the best gift I can give to you." So here I am, this is me, a faith to be observed.

I hold onto that which is not always seen- the promise of God's goodness, the hope that one day in the promised new heavens and earth- on a grassy hill or a sand covered beach- the lion and the lamb will lie down side by side and I, too, will lie down side by side, next to my father, and we will laugh and laugh until there are no more tears left to cry.