Kids are the BEST
We love our kids. They love us. Yes, there are times when we don’t all agree. That’s to be expected, I suppose. But through it all, the diapers, the late nights the the teenage years, our love for each other grows in indescribable ways.
Indescribable
With all the words available to us in our language, and the made-up words in the Urban Dictionary, too, it is pretty near impossible for something to be truly “indescribable”.
However, as with all story-tellers, I struggle to find the words sometimes to really convey the deep, inner, heart-felt feelings that you can feel about the people you care for and love the most. I guess there are words to help describe, but sometimes they just seem to fall flat in the effort to express how you feel.
We love to hike
We moved to Cookeville, TN in early 2009 and it didn’t take us long to realize we had hit the jackpot with hiking opportunities and waterfalls, to boot.
We live 7 miles (or about a 10 minute drive) from Burgess Falls State Park. This has been our go-to park for friends and family who are visiting and want just a taste of the great TN outdoors. It has also been our “we have nothing to do, lets hike Burgess Falls real quick.”
Burgess Falls is only a 1.5 mile hike and on that round trip hike, you are blessed with 4 fantastic waterfalls each one bigger, wider and more violent that the last.
Its just easy to get to
Over the years, we can go to Burgess Falls, hike the whole trail, and drive back home – all of that in less than 1 hour.
So, what does Burgess Falls have to do with the word “Indescribable”?
Glad you asked.
Nothing.
Except that my two sons and I were hiking at Burgess Falls one winter day when we stumbled upon an area off to the side where water was dripping from all the various smaller veins of the aptly named “Falling Water River” and since the air temp was below freezing, various shapes and sizes of icicles were forming.
Then he saw it.
Levi caught a glimpse of a huge icicle and he got so excited!
Yes, we took it home
To make a long story short, we grabbed the icicle, reversed course from the hike, backtracked to the car, loaded up the icicle and we were not permitted to use the heat in the vehicle for fear of having any of the icicle melt.
We then got home and had to clear out sections of our deep freezer to store the icicle.
What was the big deal?
Why did Levi want to bring it home?
Why did we have to store it in the freezer?
Our kids love us, and crazy things like saving an icicle is how they show it
What is so “indescribable” about the love shared between a parent and child is this:
We can’t explain or describe how it makes us feel when a small child goes WAY out of their way to show you something just so they can see the joy and pleasure in your facial expression.
You see, JoAnne wasn’t with us and she wasn’t at home when we arrived with the icicle.
Levi thought this icicle was so awesome he didn’t want the day to pass without his mom having the privilege of seeing it, too.
The effort made it obvious
Levi’s effort to bring this home JUST so JoAnne could see it made the gesture obvious. It would have been difficult to ignore.
But there have got to be times when we, as parents, teachers, employers, managers and even friends, where our kids, students or friends do something a little less grand, and we do not acknowledge.
I believe that everybody walking on the planet right now desires some type of affirmation. Those in our circle of influence want that affirmation from US!
They will do little things and hope you notice or they might even mention it. To which they will often receive this reply. “yea, I noticed. But you didn’t do it right.” Or they might get this response “Do I have to acknowledge every little thing you do?” Or, “Isn’t that what you get paid for?”
We wield AMAZING power. We can MAKE or BREAK someone’s day, maybe several “someone’s” day, by simply choosing to celebrate the small things that someone did – maybe just for you.
As a parent, in the very intricate day-to-day challenges of what refrigerator art to keep, we have this assignment to encourage our kids to be the best version of themselves. When you see them take a step in that direction because of the love they have received FROM you, the love they feel FOR you and their realization that other people matter in this world, well, its …..
Indescribable
