What do you do?

I promised myself I wouldn't over-think this post. But the truth is, I've been ruminating about it all week. Still, I will attempt to get it all out in one short BLEH, and be done with it.

Last week as I tucked my seven year old son in bed, he began to cry. Not a quiet, I'm-so-tired-cry, but a shoulder-shaking sob. Huge crocodile tears. "What's wrong?" I asked as I held him and tried to comfort him. "I want to be young again," he said between raspy heaves. I actually had to stifle a grin and keep myself from saying just wait until you're 37! But his genuine heartache was sobering. "Why do you want to be young again?" I asked.

"Because, I was happier then."

"What made you happy?"

"Staying home. Reading books. Snuggling on the couch. Going to the park."

"What was your happiest time?"

"One afternoon it was sunny. And Dad threw me up in the air again and again."

After some additional coaxing, comforting, and listening, I discovered something interesting. For all the family togetherness time we share, my son was missing individual time. And even though I'm at home all day, our life is far from peaceful. We are definitely busy. Busy with homework, busy with sports, busy with church, busy with CJ, busy with errands, busy with music practices and lessons, busy with chores. Busy with life.

I certainly can't turn back the clock. And pulling him out of school to do home school isn't an option for us either. He didn't want to cut out any of the sports, or music, or activities. But we did come up with a solution. It is quite simple. Very simple. Every day I will sit and read one book just with him. We can't count our evening chapter book reading. It has to be just me and him.

So that's what we've done for the last four days. And it's been lovely. To snuggle and talk together. To hear him laugh at the "Julius Baby of the World" book. To answer his questions about "Where the Wild Things Are." To hear him recite lines from "Peter Rabbit." In many ways, we have turned back the clock.

Is it crazy that I had to be reminded to slow down? Is it crazy that I had to schedule one-on-one time with my child? Maybe not crazy. Just necessary.