Guy's Night

My wife Jodie and my daughter Alex were away tonight.
Caleb and I had a Guy’s Night.

He has school tomorrow, so we still needed to pull off the basics of normalcy, with regular bed-time, homework, bathing, brushing teeth and all that goes with the everyday responsible side of life. But since it was Guy’s Night, I opened it up to some elements of fun. I told Caleb that he was in charge, and we could do whatever he wanted until bedtime.

So, when he was finished with Piano practice, he grabbed my hand and said, “Come on!” He led me up to the computer, where he wanted to play games with me for a half-hour. Then he chose Caramel and Apples for dessert, and he helped me cut the apples. Then he wanted to watch a twenty minute Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV show with microwave popcorn. Then he wanted to read in bed together…my bed, of course…and have a sleepover.

So right now I’m in bed, typing on my laptop, and listening to his steady breathing beside me. I’m struck by the joyful way Caleb crashes into life.

Earlier today, when we were on our way to soccer practice, he told me that he had a pet moth, and that he kept his pet moth on his Bible, so the moth would have good dreams. He said, “Dad! You can get a pet moth too! All you need is a moth! And a Bible!”

The only punctuation my son is familiar with is an exclamation point. It’s all that important.

The Bible says this about kids:
Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Psalm 127:3,4 NIV

I only have one son, and one daughter, both of whom I love very much.
So I don’t know if my quiver is full or not.

But I know my heart is.