and together they pointed at airplanes

Blake's current calling prevents him from joining Garrett and I on our bus ride to church. And so, each Sunday morning, I haul Garrett, his bag, and my bag down short five blocks and over one long avenue to the bus stop. It is a heavy load and sometimes my arms go numb from the weight of it.

But today, as we waited for our bus in the shadows of large homes and the shade of tall trees, it was easy to forget about the growing density of my growing boy. Because today, at his prompting, we listened carefully for the sounds of airplanes flying low overhead and scoured the blue skies to spot them. When we found them, we, in our excitement, pointed at them and watched them disappear into the distance. Thanks to our close proximity to three of the country's busiest airports, in the seven minutes we waited for our bus to arrive, we were never left without an airplane to gaze at.

The actual bus ride to church is a very wiggly one. Garrett has forgotten how to sit still, and his curious hands are in constant reach of something: a pole, a handlebar, the hair of the lady sitting in front of us, the button to request a stop, screws in various sizes and locations. It is all I can do to keep him happy without that happiness depending on our neighbors who would prefer to be left alone.

But today, in between his wiggles, Garrett found a friend reflecting back at him in the shiny black paneling between the bus windows. He smiled and waved; his friend smiled and waved back. They engaged together in a several happy games of Peek-a-Boo, each boy pleasantly surprised to find the other looking back at him. And these activities continued intermittently throughout our thirty-minute bus ride.

This life as someone's mother is far from being a breeze, but, as if to balance the challenges, it is also incredibly fulfilling. I am privileged to walk beside (or carry, as the case may be) this pint-sized person who is able to point out the finer, almost invisible, details of life -- an ability that never ceases to amaze me. So here's to rediscovering this beautiful world alongside the boy who's discovering it for the first time.